The Long Meaningful Ramble 4: Sacrarium
by reddwarfaddict
Summary: Ten people now roam the TARDIS, and most of them are children. They've survived everything possible…but with nightmares, malfunctions, murder and abduction, could their lives this time be destroyed by an age-old enemy? TenRose. Major DoctorWhump.
1. So Here It Comes

**A/N:** Disclaimer: Doctor Who is spelt D-O-C-T-O-R W-H-O. BBC Wales is spelt B-B-C W-A-L-E-S. I really don't own it is spelt, I R-E-A-L-L-Y D-O-N-'-T O-W-N I-T.

So here it comes, the fourth Ramble. I can't do summaries, I really can't. As ever, if anyone thinks of a better one then do suggest!

This one's a super-super-super long chapter! Well, only super-super. Well, super.

* * *

Chapter 1 – So Here It Comes…

"You can run father, but you can't hide!"

The Doctor groaned in agony as he stumbled desperately through the underground base, constant blood seeping out from between his fingers from where he'd been shot by his own son. He couldn't believe how quickly the boy had flipped under the promises of power…

"That's it, keep running! This is _fun!"_

His side pulled even more and he cried out, falling to the floor. He forced his head up through the blackness of death, trying desperately to get onto two feet to keep running towards his goal but failing dismally as he collapsed back down in a heap onto the floor.

"Now you die, father!"

The Doctor panted heavily as a dark shadow stepped over him. This was it. This was the end.

"Please Rory, think about this…" the Doctor choked through his coughing, "remember who you are…"

"The person I used to be father, he's long since gone," Rory's voice was unnaturally deep, almost robot-like. The Doctor felt him kneel down beside him, the barrel of the laser pistol he wielded resting against his father's head. "This side of me…likes to kill."

"Please Rory…" the Doctor heard himself beg but the fog shrouding his brain was so thick that anyone could have said it. "Take a look at yourself; look what you've become…"

Rory lifted a finger and tilted his father's head up, towards him. The golden light pouring from the boy's eyes almost blinded the Doctor. "Yeah, a power-crazed megalomaniac overlord of the Universe. I like it. It's quite catchy."

"Then I'm sorry, I really am."

Rory frowned. "For what?"

"For this." The Doctor swiftly reached into his gun holster and drew it out, shooting Rory through the head before a second had even passed.

He watched, transfixed as his own son collapsed to the floor, dead. In silence he stared, as if unable to believe what he'd just done. Slowly the shock began to fade away and he started to tremble, a cascade of emotions exploding from him in one almighty blast.

"YES!" he punched the air, jumping onto his feet in one swift movement. "I got you! I got you! I got you! You lost! You lost!" he sang, performing his victory dance as the world faded from around him, and was swiftly replaced by the interior of the gaming arcade they were stood in.

Rory sighed, picking himself up off the floor and drawing off his helmet. He looked over at his father, who was still performing his victory dance only now with his helmet off. Rory rolled his eyes, stepping out of the gaming arena and crossing to meet his Uncle Jack and two sisters, Lottie and Zoë.

"Oh bad luck Rory, you were so close!" Jack consoled him, ruffling his hair. Rory glared at him and patted it down again.

"It's totally unfair!" he insisted, "the game's glitched! I totally had him that time! What did I do wrong? I did it perfect!"

"It's your timing," the voice of the Doctor came from just behind him. "Seriously, you could've killed me three times quite easily but you insisted on chatting away about how brilliant you were! Never get power-crazed Rory, it only blinds you."

Rory shrugged. "Oh c'mon dad, I was just…taking it all in. It's not everyday I get to shoot you. I'll own you next time, seriously, I will!" he grinned at his father.

"In your dreams," the Doctor beamed, dropping to his knees as his two daughters rushed towards him in a frenzy and gripped him in a tight hug. "And how are my two favourite girls in the Universe?"

"Brill!" Lottie beamed, her long brown hair bouncing around her shoulders with her equally as brown eyes sparkling with delight. "He went zap, zap, zap, daddy, but you went baam, baam, baam and he dieded!"

Zoë held onto the Doctor, clinging tightly.

"I don't like guns, daddy," she murmured into him, her long curly blonde hair soft against his cheek with her deep brown eyes closed. The Doctor couldn't help but smile at the fact Jackie called Zoë her 'little angel' because of not only her angelic blonde curls, but also the fact her eyes went gold in the TARDIS as did Rory's and Lottie's too.

"Neither do I Zoë." The Doctor kissed her on the forehead, before drawing back to address both of them. "So what don't we use?"

"Guns!" Lottie supplied.

"And why don't we use them?"

"'Cause they hurts people!"

"And what do we use instead?"

"Fruit 'n stuff!"

He kissed her on the forehead. "Atta, girl."

"Ah geez, gimme a break," Rory sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Anyway, shouldn't you be more concerned about pumping that head of yours full of facts rather than video games?" the Doctor said, "if you wanna go to the Universal University…" He beamed, delighted as he said it. "I'll never get tired of saying that…"

"Dad, I don't wanna go," Rory suddenly said, and the Doctor's face fell. "I'd rather stay here."

The Doctor was surprised. "You couldn't stop talking about it the other week!"

"Yeah but I've changed my mind."

The Doctor shook his head. "Rory, listen to me…"

"Don't reel off all that rubbish about 'being brighter' 'cause fact is I can already speak 10000 languages fluently and evaluate pi to 100000 with my eyes shut. I don't need it, dad. You and Jack have taught me all I need to know."

The Doctor was still shaking his head. "No, I'm not gonna force you but I really think…"

"Well you're forcing me then, aren't you?!" Rory suddenly yelled, angry. "You can't tell me what to do! You don't own me!" and with that, he stormed out of the arcade exit. The Doctor shrugged, turning back to his daughters.

"Do me a favour – never grow up?" They nodded like a pair of little angels. "Tch, teenagers," the Doctor joked, before turning to Jack. "Where'd Rose and Jill get to?"

"Probably shopping in the market."

The Doctor nodded, taking the hands of his two little girls and leading them out of the arcade and into the bright midday sunshine. It was a beautiful summer's day on the Planet Yechia, 15th planet of the Diapnor constellation. The four different Suns were each shining brightly; the robot birds were singing their mechanical songs; the vibrant turquoise grass was swaying in the slight breeze. It had been the best weather Yechia had seen for a while, even if it _was_ artificially created.

The planet was in the middle of a peace movement – so the Doctor had claimed. So there was absolutely no chance anything would try to possibly destroy their holiday break. Apparently.

Since Rose and Jack's girlfriend, leader of UNIT, Jill Lethbridge-Stewart (daughter to the Brigadier), were both seven months pregnant with their respective partner's children, the Doctor had taken the decision that they'd only go to places he was sure were 100 percent safe from alien threats. Apparently Yechia was one of those places.

Infact, the King of Yechia himself was about to come out and address the crowds, which was why the streets were so crowded – so much that even the Doctor with his keen eyes could see neither Rose nor Jill. He let go of Zoë's hand and knelt down, lifting Lottie onto his shoulders.

"Give us a yell if you see your mummy or auntie," he said steadying her on his shoulders. She giggled, searching the marketplace as her father was. "Zoë, hold onto me. Zoë?" He turned around, checking for the girl.  
She wasn't there.

* * *

Zoë walked as if in a trance, slipping easily through the crowds since she was so small. Her eyes were fixed on the man in front of her, a dark-haired and pink skinned life form, hunched over in a long black coat despite the baking heat.

"Zoë!" she heard a call from behind her, but it was like she didn't hear it. Treading carefully without making a sound, she tailed the man to a small alleyway on the edge of the marketplace. She was about to follow when her name was called again, and she was gathered up in her father's arms. "You had daddy worried!" the Doctor said, kissing her softly on the cheek. He caught her blank expression, still staring ahead. "What? What is it?"

She raised her arm and pointed into the alleyway. "Bad man there daddy, he thinks bad thoughts."

The Doctor paused, following her gaze into the alleyway. Zoë was extremely insightful. She sort of seemed a bit lost most of the time. She hardly ever spoke but when she did it was usually something extremely perceptive. She seemed to be able to read people's minds or something like it was an extra sense. She and him always seemed to have a special kind of connection, and it was for that reason he'd trust her with anything. Including this.

The Doctor sighed, loudly. Rose was going to kill him for this. Since she'd been pregnant she'd been nothing but moody and scarily aggressive – yet somehow he still loved her to death whilst she was hitting him with a shoe. "Okay, show me."

He set Zoë down onto the ground and kept her hand firmly in his grasp this time as she pulled him into the alleyway. She turned an immediate right up a set of metal steps, and they both kept as quiet as they could. Finally they stopped at the top of the steps, and the Doctor realised what these bad thoughts the bad man was having were.

He was going to assassinate the King.

The Doctor _had_ to stop him. If the King was assassinated, then the peace would be corrupted and Yechia would fall into another civil war… It just didn't bear thinking about. So much for a holiday break.

"Stay here," he whispered to the Zoë under the booming tones of the King's introductory orchestra. He was just coming onto the stage…

The assassin was still setting up his equivalent of a sniper rifle, so the Doctor got onto all fours and crossed the roof. He crawled over to the gunman, taking a seat silently beside him as he assembled his gun. The Doctor suddenly sighed loudly, and the gunman wheeled around in surprise. The Doctor beamed at him.

"Hullo! Nice day, isn't it?"

"I'll kill you!" the gunman suddenly said, drawing a knife out from his coat pocket. The Doctor sighed again, tutting as he scratched behind his left ear.

"Ah, that's where you failed. Beginner's mistake. See, if you were going to kill me, you would've done already and not have said, 'I'll kill you'," the Doctor said nonchalantly, taking the knife out of the gunman's grasp and tossing it out of reach towards his left. "But I can see you're a bit busy, assassinating the King and all. Now what I can't figure out is why you'd want to do something like that."

"You can't stop me!"

"Oh, never! Go ahead. Doesn't concern me. I'm not from 'round these parts. If you wanna take a pop at your own King and possibly cause the breakout of another Yechia civil war, go ahead. Be my guest. I won't stop you."

The gunman observed him for a moment, trying to determine whether he was serious or not. He looked serious enough, kicking his feet against the side of the building where he sat on the edge. The gunman raised his sniper rifle as the King walked on the stage, bowing to the masses. He braced it against his shoulder, aiming for the head…

"Oh wait, no, sorry, I've got to stop you there," the Doctor suddenly burst out, tutting and shaking his head. The gunman turned to look at him, annoyed. "Seriously, the position you're in? You'd be lucky to hit him at all! You've got to hold it with your left shoulder forward to your right for stability!"

The gunman quickly adjusted his position to the Doctor's recommendations, feeling a little miffed. He aimed once again.

"And what are you doing now?!" the Doctor said with a roll of the eyes, "who taught you to assassinate? Your mum? That's completely the wrong way to hold it! Look, give it here…"

"Go away!" the gunman yelled, wrestling with the Doctor over the gun. His finger hit the trigger and the rifle fired, the bullet harmlessly hitting the side of a distant building. He launched out a fist towards the Doctor who ducked, before the gunman let go of the rifle and ran back down the steps.

Victorious, the Doctor turned with sniper in hand towards the crowd below, watching in shock at the spectacle before them. The Doctor beamed.

"Treason!" someone suddenly yelled from the crowd, pointing up at the Doctor. The Doctor's smile froze. "Treason! He tried to assassinate the King!"

"Get him!" several people yelled, and suddenly the whole crowd was running towards him.

"Oh poo," the Doctor muttered, throwing the rifle to accompany the dagger. As he looked down at the advancing crowd he spotted Rose and everyone standing by one of the stools and staring at him in disbelief. Rose didn't look very happy with him as Zoë rushed over to her, holding onto her mother's maternity dress. The Doctor gave a shrug, and then began to run.

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 2 – All Growed Up_

"_It's because they haven't had any for seven months," Jill stated as a matter-of-fact, and Rose nodded in agreement. "It's why they're acting like this. They think there's a famine."_

"_There is with this baby of his," Rose commented, hand on her bulging belly where baby Jack resided. "All he does is eat! God I'm starved. I need a banana split. And where's the guy who makes them? Getting chased 'round and 'round the city by a huge bloodthirsty mob! He's so selfish!"_

_It was there and then that Captain Jack Harkness decided he would definitely not be buying cheap contraception ever again._

As always, I crave feedback and without it I lose my keyboard :( Then nothing ever gets done!


	2. All Growed Up

**A/N: **HOW AMAZING WAS EPISODE SIX ON SATURDAY?! :D I freaking LOVED it! That takes its place as second favourite new series episode, after Voyage Of The Damned. Love it, love it, love it!

* * *

Chapter 2 – All Growed Up

"Stupid, stupid, stupid alien!" Rose was saying over and over again as she led the group back towards the TARDIS. "Why the hell do I even bother with him? He's like a two-year-old!"

"Because you love him for it?" Jack tentively suggested. Rose shot him a glare.

"Shut up! Just because you're right!"

"Yeah, shut up Jack!" Jill slapped him around the head. Lottie and Zoë giggled.

"Okay I'll just do that then…" Jack muttered, rubbing his now sore head and glaring at the two girls, before dropping his eyes to Jill's womb where his baby girl, Dawn, was.

"It's because they haven't had any for seven months," Jill stated as a matter-of-fact, and Rose nodded in agreement. "It's why they're acting like this. They think there's a famine."

"There _is _with this baby of his," Rose commented, hand on her bulging belly where baby Jack resided. "All he does is _eat! _God I'm starved. I need a banana split. And where's the guy who makes them? Getting chased 'round and 'round the city by a huge bloodthirsty mob! He's so _selfish!"_

It was there and then that Captain Jack Harkness decided he would definitely _not _be buying cheap contraception _ever_ again.

* * *

Of course, escaping in the TARDIS would've been a good plan if not for the fact that Rory had gone and taken it in the flare of his teenage outburst. The Doctor had to do three laps of the entire city before the mob finally gave up and went home. He arrived back in the alley where he'd left the TARDIS, gasping for air only to find no Rose or Jack or anyone…or the TARDIS. It was only just then he realised – this was when Rory went back to save the Doctor's past self from certain death. He should arrive back any minute now, matured by his experiences.

Sure enough, in minutes came the familiar groaning and jolting of two TARDISes together. Rory suddenly burst out of one, running over to his father and hugging him tightly, feeling like a vulnerable toddler again.

The Doctor laughed, but didn't need to ask why he was like this. He already knew.

"Dad I'm so sorry for what I said, I really didn't mean it," he said, pulling back to meet his father's gaze as one of the TARDISes disappeared from behind him. "I wanna get an education. I mean, a proper one. I wanna go to a Universal University and make you proud of me."

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked him gently, resting a hand on his shoulder. "There's no backing out, y'know. You'll be away full time from us."

Rory nodded sharply. "I'm sure. Zoë'll understand, Lottie can be persuaded and Jack and Dawn can get to know me when I get back. I'll phone as much as I can, I promise."

"Then you'd better tell the others. We'll go see your gran later."

"There he is!" came Rose's sudden shriek up the alleyway, but it was too late for the Doctor to hide.

"Oh, hello Rose," he said in a voice far too squeaky to be one of a content man, turning to meet his wife's gaze. "How are you?"

"Oh, just dyin' to see you," she said, moving forward towards him with a vengeful look in her eyes. The Doctor quickly glanced over her shoulder, catching Jack standing there still rubbing his head from where the Doctor presumed Jill had hit him. Jack pointed at the Doctor, and then drew his finger across his neck. _You're dead._

"Rose darling! Rory's got something he wants to tell you!" the Doctor suddenly exclaimed, grabbing Rory by the shoulders and yanking him in the path between him and Rose.

"No, no, you can finish here if you like, it's not important," Rory said casually, trying to side step but the Doctor held him firmly in place. Rory gulped.

"What?" Rose asked her son, her evil glare suddenly transforming magically into a supportive smile.

"…I've decided that I'm gonna go to the Universal University."

This seemed to stun everyone into silence, and Rose bounced forward to engulf him into a huge hug.

"Oh my baby boy is leavin' home!" Rose wailed, unsure whether to be delighted or grief-ridden. "Are you sure? _He _didn't talk you into this, did he?" she asked, jerking her head in her husband's general direction. "You don't have to go if you don't wanna…"

"No, mum," Rory shook his head. "I've thought about it for a very long time and I've come to a decision…I wanna go."

"Okay," Rose whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Rory pulled a face of disgust and wiped his head with his sleeve indignantly. "Let's go tell granny."

* * *

Jackie was understandably distraught to hear her not-so-little grandson was going off to a huge Universal University by himself. She kept telling him to look out for alien perverts and always look his smartest to impress his superiors. She almost dragged him off on a shopping trip for smart clothes but thankfully the Doctor saved him by saying he already had quite a few suits in the TARDIS Wardrobe that would fit Rory perfectly. He was blatantly lying, of course.

Rose helped him pack; understanding that concept of not wearing a suit was best if you didn't want to get beaten up the first day there. He'd almost changed his mind by the time he hugged Lottie and Zoë goodbye at the University entrance, but he forced himself onwards.

"Remember to call!" Rose yelled after him as he walked down the pathway, accompanied by his father holding the rest of his luggage. "If you wanna come home just say and we'll come pick you straight up!" He turned back and nodded, waving at his mother fast disappearing into the distance.

"I remember my mother was the same," the Doctor said frowning slightly in concentration. "Actually, she was worse. Took me ages to get my street cred back after she yelled at me to change my underpants every night."

Rory laughed. "You were here too?"

"Oh, briefly. Just killing time really, getting some Doctorates since the Time Academy." The Doctor shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean with my father's position in the Gallifreyan High Council we had to travel everywhere so they dumped me in the nearest University available wherever we went after I graduated the Time Academy, hoping that I'd learn something. Fifty-seven academics in five years, not bad, eh?"

"I'll say," Rory said as they climbed the stairs to the B Side dormitories. "Did you…y'know, miss your family?"

The Doctor regarded him for a moment. "A bit, I s'pose. Missed my mother a lot, and my brother 'cause he stayed on Gallifrey, but not so much my father. He was an important man; didn't really have much time for me, if any. I don't even remember what he looked like. I hardly ever saw him. Probably why I came to hate the system, really. Didn't wanna end up like him."

"Have you told mum this?"

The Doctor shook his head. "It's all in the past now. Doesn't matter. What room number are you?" he swiftly changed the subject, peering over his son's shoulder. "Thirty-six? B Side? Wow!" he exclaimed, grabbing the key out of Rory's hand and bolting down the corridor to the appropriate room number. "You're not gonna believe this!"

"It was your room?" Rory suggested mildly, catching up with him. The Doctor beamed.

"Yes!" He burst in through the door, setting Rory's bags on the floor before diving under the bed, scrambling around at something in the dark. "Please let it be here, please let it be here!"

"What?" Rory dared to ask, testing the integrity of the bed. There was a small buzz of the Sonic Screwdriver, then the sound of something popping open complete with a delighted yell from his father. He pulled himself out from under the bed, holding in his right hand a stash of alien porn magazines and in his left a packet of what looked suspiciously like an alien kind of half-rotten magic mushroom. Rory pulled a face.

"Don't tell me you did this kinda stuff?"

"Oh no!" the Doctor looked disgusted even at the thought of it. "Used to hide them for Vlademer so I wouldn't get beaten up. Remember Rory, flip knot of wood on the right to the left and press down in the middle – you can hide anything in there. Just under nine hundred years, these have lasted!" He slipped the contents of his hands inside his coat. "I'll get rid of them. You don't wanna get caught with these." He moved towards the door, giving Rory a salute. "I see you in a couple of years, then. Remember to phone."

"I will. Thanks, dad."

"No problem," the Doctor replied, slipping out the door. He suddenly stopped, backtracking a few steps into Rory's room once more and taking him into a hug. Rory didn't resist. "Don't stop Rory, never give up. Always hold your head high and aim to reach the top. Let this Universe see what you've got because you've got _so_ much to give. Broaden your horizon…form a band, join the sport's team, fall in love! Anything you've been thinking of! You're your own destiny. Never be lonely because you've got plenty of time on your side. Take care," the Doctor said as he pulled away, before turning and leaving out the door.

* * *

**A/N:** Tch, takes three chapters to get to the action, eh? :P I'm determined to keep this chapter previews going, y'know...

_Chapter 3 – Poorly TARD-y_

"_Okay, just sit tight a second," he said as he pulled up, turning back towards the console and randomly jabbing a few buttons to gauge a reaction from the TARDIS. "I'll just find out wh-"_

_But he never did find out, as there was one final massive explosion right in his face. It threw him across the Console Room with an immense amount of force, his helpless body colliding headlong into one of the supports struts before he slid to the floor, out cold._


	3. Poorly TARDy

**A/N: **I've just heard the awful, terrible, horrible news about DW being postponed AGAIN. WHY?! If it's the Eurovision again I'm actually going to cry! :(

* * *

Chapter 3 – Poorly TARD-y

"It's amazin' how quickly they grow up…"

The Doctor stared at the woman in his arms, wondering whether she was joking or not. Rory was in reality just over a year old but had the physical age of a sixteen-year-old from huge growth abnormalities. No. She was serious. He held Rose tighter. "Seems like only yesterday he was safe in my arms, calling himself Booboo…"

"I know, I know. But we've still got Zoë and Lottie, and…" – he rubbed her womb gently – "…little Jack. How is he?"

"Hungry," Rose moaned, "he's got a bloody big appetite."

"Told you not to let Jack name him Jack," he said with a grin.

"Mummy, daddy…" Lottie's voice suddenly came from the doorway, and the Doctor and Rose looked up to see their daughter standing in her pyjamas, rubbing her eyes. Bob, the pet Delorion was bouncing around her feet, his bright blue fur and pink mane bright in the doorway. "I want food."

"Sweetheart, why aren't you in bed?"

"'Cause I'm hungry!" she moaned loudly, "can't sleep without food!"

"Yip, yip!" Bob barked, the small alien dog running over to the Doctor and Rose.

"I'll second that," Rose muttered, resting a hand on her swollen womb. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Okay, snack time," he announced, manoeuvring himself from under Rose and off of the bean bag he was sat on, making sure Rose was perfectly comfortable before stroking Bob and walking to the doorway where Lottie lingered. "To the kitchen!"

Lottie giggled and took his hand, walking with him down the corridor.

Suddenly the TARDIS floor bulged beneath their feet making them both stumble in their steps, Lottie screaming in surprise as the Doctor quickly steadied her so she didn't fall over.

"Daddy!" she yelped, gripping onto his leg desperately after a few moments of silence. "What happen to TARD-y?"

The Doctor frowned for a moment, stroking her hair. "I don't know. Let's go find out, shall we?"

* * *

The Doctor pressed his stethoscope to the TARDIS central column, trying to find her problem. Why had she lurched like that? Was the negative mass field breached? He drew back his stethoscope, shoving it in his pocket before tapping a few buttons to scan. Nope. It was in place. Then what was wrong with her?

"Daddy what's wrong with TARD-y?" Lottie echoed his mind, and the Doctor frowned in concentration.

"I don't know," he replied shortly, stroking a panel of the console affectionately. "It's like she's ill."

"Can TARD-y get ill daddy?"

The Doctor nodded, slightly distracted by the lines on the console monitor getting more and more erratic with every passing moment. "Only sometimes."

"Can't you and mummy kiss her better like when we get ill?"

He gave a small smile, wishing it were that simple. "No, when she gets sick there's not much we can do for her. We just have to wait for her to get better by giving her some rest."

"Does that mean we can't go places?"

"We can, just not too often so we don't strain her," the Doctor replied, staring at the TARDIS Console. His eyebrows slowly lowered. Something was definitely not right here… "Infact-"

And then there was a giant explosion.

The Doctor threw himself over his little girl, protecting her from the close range blast. They were both thrown to the floor as the entire Console Room shook unpredictably, Lottie crying in his arms. He held her tightly to him as another explosion, deeper this time shook the room, debris falling all around them.

"Daddy!" Lottie screamed as he pushed himself to his feet, lifting Lottie up and holding her with one arm against his chest. He was thrown to his knees as another explosion sounded, hearing Lottie crying for him over and over again.

Then it stopped.

He waited a few moments before shakily pulling himself up off of the floor, still holding Lottie tightly in case of another explosion. It was over. He quickly set the girl onto the chair, checking her over for injuries.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" he asked, cupping her chin gently. She shook her head, eyes still watering. "Good," he smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Then what you crying for, eh? Gimme a smile." She giggled, reaching up to her father for a hug. He dropped to his haunches, willingly obliging. "Okay, just sit tight a second," he said as he pulled up, turning back towards the console and randomly jabbing a few buttons to gauge a reaction from the TARDIS. "I'll just find out wh-"

But he never did find out, as there was one final massive explosion right in his face. It threw him across the Console Room with an immense amount of force, his helpless body colliding headlong into one of the supports struts before he slid to the floor, out cold.

* * *

Groggily, the Doctor opened his eyes to meet a vibrant blue and pink Delorion.

Bob was standing on his chest, licking him up the face and the Doctor was glad of the slight healing properties of Delorion saliva. For a moment he just lay there and let Bob lick his face, gazing around at his surroundings. He was still lying in the Console Room, but now it was incredibly dark; the TARDIS had obviously suffered a massive malfunction and was on the emergency setting. Lottie was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't have been out for very long, the console was still sounding out a frenzy of rushed beeps.

Bob jumped off as the Doctor pushed himself up onto two feet, swaying slightly with the blow to the head. He blinked a few times, trying to find his centre of balance before sorting out his rush of thoughts. Right. Priorities. TARDIS? He cast a glance over to the monitor, which told him she was currently in overdrive of sending distress calls. The Doctor staggered over to her, at first hesitant to touch her incase events repeated themselves and he flew back across the room, but he didn't. He shut off the distress signal before his next course of action came to mind.

Other people.

He turned towards the door into the even darker TARDIS corridor, one hand still against his head. He staggered with uncertainty down the hallway with Bob following him, tripping over debris that had fallen in the accident. He first arrived at Lottie and Zoë's bedroom door, giving a light knock.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, pausing to wait for a reply. None. He pushed the door open, taking a peek around.

Then he went rigid with shock.

"Zoë!" he yelled, stumbling over the bits of fallen ceiling to get to the bed, hoping to Rassilon he'd missed something vital. He hadn't. The bedsheets Zoë had been sleeping in were now stained with the deep red colour of blood, and no girl was to be seen.

Heartsbeat suddenly launching into overdrive the Doctor scrambled back over the wreckage to the doorway. Had Zoë been hurt? Had she just gone to find her mother? If so, why was no one around?

He made his way to Jack and Jill's bedroom, calling out for someone to answer with a sense of desperation. He pushed open the door, almost dreading what he would see as he poked his head inside. Bob had already ran ahead. No Jack. But Jill was there, and she looked like she was just sleeping beneath the covers of the double bed, Bob whining slightly around the Doctor's feet.

"Jill," he hissed, moving forward to the woman who remained unresponsive. "Jill wake up!" He delved his hand inside his pocket, bringing out a torch and clicking it on. At least he could see where he was going now. He panned it around the room quickly, crossing the floor to stand beside the woman. He brought the beam of the torch down onto Jill, and then let out a cry of shock.

She'd been stabbed.

Blood was dried around the wound, but it was anyone's guess as to how long she'd been like this. He quickly bent down to the knife, shining his torch directly on the place of impact. Just above her womb. Had it just missed the baby?

"Jill, can you hear me? Jill!" he called resting his fingers on her cold neck, but somehow already knew it was too late as Bob jumped onto the bed and began to lick the area around her wound. No pulse. She was dead, and had been for a good few hours.

Shocked, he slowly straightened and regarded the dead woman lying infront of him for a few moments. No. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real…Jill couldn't be dead. Why the hell would she be stabbed? Who would stab her in the TARDIS?

He could feel tears welling up behind his eyes, but he forced them to stay back. He had to go on, find Lottie, Zoë, Jack and Rose. Shakily he stepped into the corridor with the loudly whining Bob at his heels, making his way as quickly as he could towards his own bedroom where Rose slept. But not before he saw someone else.

Lottie.

She was lying crushed under a few hefty weights of metal and by the time the Doctor came to his senses he was already trying to dig her out, determined to find her alive and scared, but well. But even as he lifted weights with super-strength he could feel those tears prickling at his eyes once more. No. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead…

She was dead.

"NO!" he suddenly screamed, tears now cascading down his face in a waterfall. "This can't be happening!! Please!!"

He dragged her limp body out from under the wreckage, holding her to his chest. Nothing. Not even her faint shudders as she attempted to draw in breath, nor the tiny little thud of her one heart beating. His little girl was dead.

Someone had murdered her. Someone had caused the TARDIS to malfunction, and had taken his family from around him. But why not _him? _Why was _he _the survivor? Why didn't they kill _him?_

He took one last glance at Lottie, kissing her on the forehead with tears still falling thick and fast. Her mother. His last chance. Where was Rose?! Suddenly he was running with the dead girl in one arm and torch in the other hand, not caring for his head wound or the debris littering the floor. He skipped over piles and bolted down the corridor, before coming to an abrupt halt next to his own bedroom door.

"Rose, are you there?! Answer me!" he demanded, anger and pain flooding his voice as he threw himself through the door, shining the beam on the bed… "No," he croaked, barely being able to walk over to the side of the bed before collapsing to his knees beside her, Lottie sliding quietly from his grasp. "No, Rose…"

She had been shot. That much was clear. Bob was licking Rose around her bullet wound ineffectively with whining now louder than ever, and it only served to make the Doctor more grief-ridden than he already was.

The tears were falling faster now, grief just overwhelming his soul. Everyone around him was dead, and he had no idea what any of them had done to deserve it. He dropped his head onto his wife's chest, her blood colouring his face, clothes, hair and hands but he didn't care.

Suddenly there was the sound of someone entering from behind him. He whirled around, ready to face the murderer with his fists raised – but found instead Jack standing their with Zoë in his arms, both caked in mud and staring at him.

"Jack!" the Doctor got onto his feet, trying to wipe away his tears with the back of his hand. "Did you see who did this? Did you see them?"

Jack remained silent, looking sideward at Zoë in his arms. Neither showed any expression as Zoë slowly raised her right hand, and pointed at the Doctor.

It had been him.

* * *

_Chapter 4 – Drunky_

"_Don't be scared," Zoë began, clutching onto Drunky once more. "Daddy's soul's strong." She lowered her voice for the next thing she uttered to such a level that they all strained to hear it, "…not strong enough for the beating."_


	4. Drunky

**A/N: **And so we see the return of Drunky! I wuv Drunky. Drunky's gonna become a main character in Doctor Who soon, you just watch!

And YAY FOR PREVIEW! Watch it people, WATCH IT!

* * *

Chapter 4 – Drunky

The Doctor shot up to sitting position, gasping for air.

He was on the sofa in Jackie's flat. What had happened? He found it hard to distinguish between what had been a dream and what had been reality. He pushed himself up to sitting position, the cover that had previously been on top of him sliding off. His head was thumping a terrible headache, and he lifted his hand to trace over the place he'd impacted the support strut of the TARDIS in his dream. He winced as it stung. Okay, that much was true. He'd definitely crashed headlong into something.

But…

He got up off of the sofa, almost falling over as dizziness overtook him. The head wound was definitely real then. He made his way slowly towards Rose's bedroom, pushing open the door to check she was there, alive and well. He almost laughed with joy as he ran forward, standing over her sleeping form and resting two fingers on her neck. Pulse was all there.

It was a dream.

All the weight on his shoulders suddenly lifted off of him, just as the tears arrived – filled with relief, and the possibility of it all. He dropped down on the bed beside her, head in hands.

He didn't notice her open her eyes, and look at him.

"What's wrong?" he heard her asked, "is it your head? Are you okay?"

He shook his head, sniffing back more tears. "I…" he trailed off, silence ensuing. Rose pulled herself up, reaching her arms around him and holding him tightly.

"It's okay. Tell me."

"I…" his breath caught in his throat, so he paused, and swallowed. "I had…a dream. A nightmare. You were all dead…" The thought of it made him want to cry even more. Rose had seen him cry before, but never as much as this. It must've been so real… "It was me…I killed you all…I…didn't…I would never…"

"I know, I know…" Rose pushed him down, pressing his head into her shoulder. "Nightmare? You're a little five-year-old," she said, not harshly as she kissed him on the cheek. "It's not real, okay? Remember that. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

He nodded, trying to wipe his tears away. The memories of the Time War came thick and fast. "I'm sorry…I just…"

"You don't want to lose your family again," Rose said for him, burying her face in his hair. "It's okay. You got a nasty knock on the head and had a bad dream. Nothin' more. Now c'mon, I'm knackered, get into bed." She pulled the cover out from underneath him, throwing it back over in a second. She burrowed herself into him, tracing her finger over the dark bruise on the right of his forehead, close to his hairline. Slowly she faded into sleep – but sleeping was the last thing on the Doctor's mind.

* * *

"Breakfast!" came the shrill call from Jackie Tyler in the morning, and Rose slowly began to rouse beside him. She reached up and began to unconsciously claw through his hair. He dabbed a kiss to her forehead as her eyes flickered open, and she smiled up at him.

"Did she just say breakfast?" she murmured. He nodded. "Okay. Stay here, I'll bring some to you."

"Nah thanks," the Doctor said with a grin; jumping out of the bed with a blast of energy Rose was surprised to find he had in him with his head injury. He offered a hand to her, which at first she was hesitant to accept but eventually took. Rose had a half-hearted attempt to brush through her hair and the Doctor flattened down the sides of his before they walked out of the bedroom door, headed toward the kitchen where everyone else was already sat, completely unscathed and alive. They all looked up on their arrival, Jack and Jill grinning whilst Zoë and Lottie got off of their chairs and ran forward, hugging their father's legs silently. Zoë had a bedraggled teddy bear her clutch. The Doctor got down onto one knee, and she offered the teddy to him. He was very simply made, with button eyes and cotton facial features, with his fur a light brown. He recognised the teddy at once.

"Hey, where'd you find this?" he asked, looking at the teddy in amazement. "This was mine!"

Rose carefully dropped to her knees with one hand on her belly, looking also at the teddy bear. "Really?"

"My mother made him for me when I was born," he said, "I thought I'd lost him."

"What's his name?"

"Drunky," the Doctor supplied. "Don't ask why, I haven't a clue."

"Daddy…" Zoë raised a finger, pointing at the tear on the teddy's head above his button black eyes. "He's hurt, just like you," Zoë said with tears in her eyes.

The Doctor regarded her for a moment. "Yes, but we can fix him."

"But we can't fix you," Zoë said, so quietly that only Jack, Rose and the Doctor could hear. The Doctor stared at her. She couldn't see…Time War…surely?

"Please fix him," Zoë carried on, staring into the Doctor's eyes. He nodded.

"Hold onto him tight for a bit, then we'll mend him," the Doctor said, giving her a kiss on the forehead as he handed back Drunky. She nodded, running back over to her seat and putting Drunky in a free seat beside her. Lottie reached up to the Doctor, hugging his neck tightly for a few moments before pulling away to climb back into her own seat.

"Sit down, sit down!" Jackie suddenly commanded, bustling over to the Doctor and pushing him to sit down beside Rose and Jack. "What is it with you and gettin' knocked out?" she sighed, checking the bruise on his forehead which had darkened overnight. "It's like you enjoy it!"

He ignored her. "What happened?" he asked, mentally checking for signs of concussion but found none, much to his relief.

"The TARDIS just started goin' mad, explodin' everywhere," Jack answered, spreading marmalade over some toast for him. "I found Jill, Zoë and Rose then Lottie came runnin', yellin' that you'd been hurt. It was in an emergency program or somethin' 'cause it took us back here, so we got everyone out and came up to the flat." He put the slice on the Doctor's plate, who was still being bustled over by Jackie.

"D'you need ice on it? I've got some peas," Jackie was saying, already moving to the freezer.

"No Jackie, it's fine, it'll clear up in a day or two." The Doctor turned towards his plate, taking the piece of toast in hand and devouring it in three bites. "Where's the TARDIS? Usual spot?"

They all nodded. The Doctor nodded also as the phone started to ring in the background, and Jackie got up to answer it.

"I'll have to go have a look later," the Doctor carried on.

Rose looked incredulous. "What if it's dangerous, eh? What if you get crushed by somethin' and get brain damage or…or…" she trailed off, not really wanting to think about it.

"I won't Rose," he answered simply, taking a sip of tea. "Safe as houses."

"You might wanna rephrase that…" Jack warned.

"Safe as flowerpots on high windowsills," the Doctor rephrased, beaming at them all. Before anyone had a chance to retort, Jackie returned with phone in hand.

"It's Rory for you, Doctor," she said, a huge smile on her face. The Doctor got up and took it from her, slipping out the door. Rose watched him go.

"Don't be scared," Zoë began, clutching onto Drunky once more. "Daddy's soul's strong." She lowered her voice for the next thing she uttered to such a level that they all strained to hear it, "…not strong enough for the beating."

But before anyone could ask her what she meant she dropped down off of the chair with her teddy under one arm, skipping out of the door.

* * *

"Welcome to Time Lord puberty," were the exact words Rose heard as she walked out of the kitchen into the sitting room. She walked over to the Doctor sitting on the sofa with the phone pressed to his ear, Rose setting down his unfinished cup of tea and some more toast on a plate on the coffee table. He flashed her a smile. "Can't help you with that," he carried on down the line, "you've just gotta figure yourself out." Pause. "Yeah, it's a bit hectic but it'll pass. You'll be better for it." Pause. "Okay, I'll see you later. Say bye to your mum." The Doctor held out the phone to her, which she took.

"You havin' fun sweetheart?"

"_It's all right, yeah. How's baby Jack?" _came her son's voice on the other end, and suddenly Rose felt the overwhelming urge to cry.

"He's fine," she answered, blinking back the tears. Her little baby son out in the big wide Universe…

"_Okay I'd better run, got class in a few," _he said, and Rose nodded even though she was well aware he couldn't even see her. _"Buh-bye!"_

"Love you, bye bye."

She hung up. The Doctor instantly moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest. He could sense when she was sad.

"Sorry," she said with a sniff, reaching up for a kiss to which he willingly obliged. "Did he meet a girl?" she asked, referring back to the first sentence she'd heard her husband say to her son.

"Several, but that's not the point," the Doctor said, reaching forward and taking his cup of tea from the mat that Rose had brought in. "Time Lord puberty is slightly different."

"What happens?"

He drained the cup, setting it back down on the table before looking down at her, trying not to laugh at her lack of knowledge. She was a human, after all. She didn't know. "You know how I once said I can feel the Earth moving beneath my feet?" She nodded against his chest. "Well, Time Lord puberty is when it all starts. Low level psychokinesis, seeing everything what is, what was, what could be and what must not…it all starts there. It can get very confusing. Can't remember what's real and what's a possibility half the time. Has to be something you work out for yourself."

He devoured his second slice, leaning back against the sofa for a moment before sighing and pushing himself and Rose to their feet. He gave her a grin. "Better go see what's wrong with the old girl. And no, I didn't mean your mother."

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 5 – My TARDIS Tried To Kill Me!_

"_No!" I suddenly yell, marching forward towards him and smacking the gun out of his grip. He turns to me, fury filling his face._

"_Move Theta," he says slowly and simply, "I really don't want to shoot you. Please move."_

"_She's innocent, by Rassilon I swear she's innocent. Please. Let her go," I beg._


	5. My TARDIS Tried To Kill Me!

**A/N:** (Talks for five minutes about matters involving spoilers in the upcoming episode, Silence In The Library) That's soooooooo cute! Wonder if they'll (SPOILER!)? Or if they've actually (SPOILER!)? Or if they're gonna talk about how big his (SPOILER!) is? Yes, that DID mean to sound rude.

* * *

Chapter 5 – My TARDIS Tried To Kill Me!

The TARDIS was crying. He could hear her in his mind.

He gently caressed the wooden exterior, reassuring her he was there after she'd blasted him five foot in the air and straight into a support strut. She didn't stop crying.

He put his key in the lock, gently turning with Jack, Jill and Rose watching behind him, holding their breath. The door easily swung open and he stepped inside. It was dark; on the emergency power setting. He heard nothing but the TARDIS' sobs, and the occasional breath of the Time Vortex through the heart of the TARDIS.

"It's okay, I'm here," he said softly to his time vessel, taking a few more determined steps in. "I'm alright."

She wouldn't stop crying. It hurt him to see her like this. His oldest and dearest companion so disturbed by something – if only he knew what. It couldn't have been his collision. He'd died by hitting his head on her console before; she hadn't been this distraught even at that.

He took a few more steps forward, almost at the console now. He reached out to touch her…

But something got him first.

He cried out in agony as something heavy hit his chest, making him want to fall over but he was suspended in the air by an unknown force. He could feel the life energy draining out of him, and he forced his eyes open and head down to look at what was pressing down on his chest with such immense force. A beam of golden light connected him and the TARDIS console, forcing him down whilst keeping him suspended at the same time. What was she _doing?! _

He screamed at her to stop, feeling arms around him trying to pull him back out of the TARDIS. He gasped for air, trying to cling onto consciousness whilst gripping weakly onto whoever was dragging him out.

"Don't get in the light, Rose!" he heard Jack's voice yell, coupled with his strains of trying to pull him out against the pull of the golden light connecting his chest and the TARDIS Console. "Keep pulling!"

After what seemed like hours they crossed the threshold, the connection suddenly cutting off between the Doctor and the TARDIS making them all fall to the floor. The TARDIS doors slammed shut, the sound of an internal lock clicking into place shortly followed by three more clicks. Rose was up in an instant, crouching beside the Doctor who had turned completely white, staring at the sky.

"Doctor? Doctor! Answer me!"

"Help me up…" he groaned, and Jack pulled him to his feet with the Doctor's right arm slung over his shoulder. He began to walk him to the flat, the Doctor focusing all his effort on placing one foot infront of the other.

"What did the TARDIS do?!" Rose was frantically asking, trying to help but Jack was pushing her away – not wanting to strain her pregnancy.

"She drained my energy," the Doctor gasped as Jack walked him up the steps.

"Why would the TARDIS do that?!" Jill demanded to know as they reached the top of the steps. The Doctor grunted, trying to understand the concept himself.

"She wanted me to die…"

* * *

"Once upon a time there lived a prince and a princess, who loved each other very, very much. They lived in a giant castle together, happy and free. But one tragic day, an evil wizard split up the prince and princess from each other, and within an instant the prince broke free and was searching for the princess. He searched high and low over the fortress, defeating all who dared to stand in his way with mighty blows…"

"But she's already dead, isn't she?" Lottie suddenly asked sleepily, curled up under the covers on the Doctor's left as Zoë was on his right. He nodded at Lottie.

"That's right. The prince got there too late, and he believed his princess to be dead. Seeking revenge he went to confront the evil wizard, only to find the princess was alive, but had been trapped by the evil wizard in his fortress…"

"But the prince gets her back," Lottie murmured.

"Yes he did. But then the evil wizard became furious with the prince and sent his servants after the prince to kill him. The prince saw the danger, and sent the princess home on his horse to protect her. The princess wasn't having any of this, so she took a magic potion that made her even more powerful than the evil wizard and rode back to save her prince..."

"She beats the wizard," Lottie inputted.

"Yes she did, but at a cost. The potion had turned to poison inside her, and the princess was dying. The prince did the only thing he could, and took the poison from her through a kiss. But the prince was poisoned now, and he died…"

"But the prince is magic."

"Yep. As soon as he died a bright golden light consumed him and he was reformed, but the princess was scared he wasn't her prince anymore. The new prince took the princess back home, but he fell ill shortly afterwards. The princess took care of the prince, but soon trouble came for the prince and princess. Evil imps were trying to take over their home, so the princess took the ill prince back to their castle…"

"But then the imps take them to their fortress…"

"Yes. The princess tried to defeat the imps like her prince had shown her, but she couldn't. It seemed there was no hope left, but then the prince got better. He defeated the elder imp in a swordfight high above the ground on a cloud, and then the princess saw he really was her prince after all. Together they went back their castle, and lived happily ever after."

He looked back up at Lottie, but she was already asleep. Smiling, he kissed her on the forehead and tucked her in before turning to Zoë, and doing likewise.

"Are you _really_ a prince daddy?" Zoë suddenly asked with a yawn, clutching onto the now mended Drunky tightly. He grinned.

"What makes you think I'm the prince?" he asked, knowing that neither Lottie nor Zoë could possibly know the real identities. Zoë snuggled even further down into the covers.

"'Cause mummy's your princess," she said simply.

He couldn't argue with that.

Another day had passed surprisingly quickly in the household, and the Doctor had spent most of it trying to figure out _why _the TARDIS had tried to kill him, only to draw blanks. He wasn't sure how he'd fix this one. Had something infected the TARDIS? Was there a deeper reason to it than he thought? There were a million possibilities but he couldn't narrow it down at all.

He quietly closed the girls' bedroom door behind him, making his way back to the sitting room where Jack, Jill, Rose and Jackie dwelled. He dropped down on the sofa next to Rose, giving her a peck of a kiss before putting his arm around her.

"I'm so tired," Rose yawned, leaning against him. He rolled his eyes.

"Bed?"

"Only if you will," she smiled gazing up into his eyes and reaching up to trace the place his bruise had faded from. He instantly tore his eyes away, looking uncomfortable as he began to shake his head but Rose pressed a quick finger to his lips.

"It's okay, it was just a dream," she whispered in his ear so the others wouldn't be able to hear her. "It's not real. You know that. We were here when you woke up before and we'll be here again." She pulled away and he nodded, filled with confidence at her words.

* * *

"_Spare me, spare me please!" the woman screams over and over again, her words burning in my ears. A dying woman's pleads. I can't stand to listen to them. I turn to my squad leader, my friend, hoping that I have a decisive look on my face and not how I feel inside – absolutely terrified._

"_She's an innocent Alpha. Send her on the ship with the rest of the refugees," I insist, hoping my friend in front of me will see sense but I could already see that he would have no mercy. _

"_She is not an innocent!" he declares, raising the slim silver device in his right hand. "We've detected that she is a traitor carrying an Artron Energy converter to power the Daleks!"_

_I bite my lip, unable to retort as he walks over to her, raising his plasma rifle in the air towards her head. She screams for mercy, and it's breaking my hearts._

"_No!" I suddenly yell, marching forward towards him and smacking the gun out of his grip. He turns to me, fury filling his face._

"_Move Theta," he says slowly and simply, "I really don't want to shoot you. Please move."_

"_She's innocent, by Rassilon I swear she's innocent. Please. Let her go," I beg._

_Alpha stares at me, his eyes long since devoid of emotion at his task. I maintain my gaze. I'm better than him, and he knows it. We'd been to the Academy together, and he well knows what I'm capable of._

"_No," he answers, drawing his gun out of his holster, aiming it at the civilian and firing all in one swift movement. The woman collapses to the floor, dead._

_It's the first death of the Time War I've seen, and somehow I know it will only be the first in a horrifically long chain…_

"No!" the Doctor yelled, outstretching his hand towards the woman as he sat bolt upright, breathing heavily. Then he realised where he was.

"Doctor?" he heard Rose ask from beside him, and he turned his head towards the girl lying beside him in the bed, lowering his hand.

"It's nothing, sorry, go back to sleep," he said quickly, kissing her cheek.

"It was another nightmare, wasn't it?" she said, and he bowed his head dejectedly. There was no point lying to her.

"Yes, it was. But it wasn't…it's not the same as…the last one."

Rose nodded. "What was it about?"

"It doesn't matter," the Doctor replied, a little too quickly. Rose sighed loudly, turning over to face away from him. He looked over at her. "What?"

"It doesn't matter," she replied in perfect imitation of him earlier, closing her eyes. She was pissed right off.

He didn't sleep anymore that night.

* * *

**A/N: **The chapter - I hate plot building! It's so dull so I've done my best to spruce it up in places. Expect a dash of Ramble Teh First somewhere in this one, also return of a few peeps and also one person who I absolutely HATE (no, it's not THAT person you're thinking of, they'll NEVER get in a Ramble) so...yeah.

Enough about me. How's you alls? Glad you're sticking with me so far! Cookies and review replies to everyone! Make 'em good!

Crappy chapter preview:

_Chapter 6 – A Hypervodka Or Six_

_His first dream came flooding back to him…_

_Then a man screamed, a howl of despair and shock. He recognised it well. That was Jack. Spinning back around he made to run to Jack and Jill's bedroom, bursting in through the door and suddenly stopping dead in his tracks at the sight now presented before him._


	6. A Hypervodka Or Six

**A/N: **Okay, so maybe I forgot to review reply. I've been caught up with history essays and the like (poor excuses, I know) and also BACK TO THE FUTURE BOXSET! Michael J. Fox is hawt. INCREDIBLY hawt. And soooo cool. I'm off to watch the extras on DVD four now...

(Is super psyched for DW tonight!) OMG the preview looks IMMENSE! Cannot WAIT! (Jumps around like a five-year-old)

* * *

Chapter 6 – A Hypervodka Or Six

**One week later…**

"Another nightmare?"

Rose's voice cut through the Doctor's daydream and he jerked back to reality, noticing Rose sitting next to him in the kitchen with her hand resting on his. He took a sip of tea, eyes dropping back down and searching the tablecloth. He nodded.

"Tell me about them."

He shook his head almost instantly. He didn't want to tell anyone about his recurring nightmares, every one different but every one about the Time War. It hurt to think about them, let alone speak of them out loud.

"You know what you need?"

The Doctor looked sideways at Jack, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"A complete binge drinking session," Jack replied, giving a charismatic smile. "A Hypervodka or six."

The TARDIS had remained in lockdown for the entire week. The Doctor for once was absolutely clueless where to begin, never mind where he was headed. The original nightmare had not come back to plague him, but his dreams had not been without their terrors. They seemed to be getting worse every night…but it wasn't a major problem.

Yet.

Every night his dreams would wake Rose, and she was beginning to find it slightly irritating. It would be okay – it really would be okay – if he told her about them, rather than keeping it bottled up inside. Well at least they hadn't been bad enough to make him breakdown again, which was something to aspire to.

"I don't drink," the Doctor replied simply to Jack, who burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's cheap! You're just dyin' for one, you've got that look on your face."

"I do not. I can get by without that stuff, thank you very much," he said plainly and simply. Jack rolled his eyes, pouring the Doctor another glass of orange juice.

"If all this nightmare stuff started after what the TARDIS did, then surely it's got somethin' to do with it?" Rose ventured, intertwining her hand with his. The Doctor could only shrug.

"I don't know how it all started. Just that it's getting worse, and I don't think it'll stop anytime soon…" He dropped his head onto folded arms on the dinner table, looking a little defeated – a rarity for the Time Lord. "I should just stop sleeping. It's not like I need it."

"But then it's beaten you," Rose pointed out as he turned his head to look at her. "It won't solve the problem. It just avoids it."

"I can't do anything else. If the TARDIS stays in lockdown I can't find out what's causing it or get rid of it."

"You have to take your mind off of it at least," Rose carried on, getting onto her feet and pulling him up. "C'mon, let's go for a walk."

* * *

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang._

_I don't know how many lives I've taken. I lost count at nine hundred and eighty. I just load, fire, load, fire. It's never ending. Beside me my comrades are crying out as they undergo regeneration after regeneration after regeneration. There're a few carcasses lying beside me, Time Lords since exhausted of their regenerations._

_I haven't regenerated yet. Why haven't I been killed? I'm too good a soldier, that's why. My reflexes at passing lasers are impeccable._

_Load, fire, load, fire._

"_Theta, how you holding out?" someone asks from beside me, and I turn to meet Alpha crouching beside me, clutching his weapon in both hands._

"_Okay," I lie, mopping my brow with the back of my head and inevitably smearing it with dirt._

"_Take a break, Theta. You're on the frontline. You need some rest."_

_I eventually nod, glad to get out of the area as I cross the trench to the shelter where the wounded lay. I turn back to Alpha, giving him a brief smile. He smiles back._

_Then he was shot straight through the head._

_The bullet that was meant for me._

"_Alpha!" I cry out, knowing it was his last body. I crawl out towards him, trying desperately to find any sign of life but already I know it's pointless. He was dead the moment it had hit his head. "No…"_

_The guns are blazing all around me, and suddenly the grief turns to immense rage. I tear off the weapon slung around my shoulders, staring at it in contempt._

"_NO MORE!" I hear myself scream, throwing the weapon down onto the soil. "NEVER AGAIN! NO MORE GUNS! I CAN'T, I JUST CAN'T!"_

_Yes, I'm here at the fall of Arcadia – the biggest conflict of the Time War. I don't think I'll ever come to terms with it._

Someone was shaking him roughly as the dream filtered away, and his eyes shot open to see Rose looking down at him, relief flooding her face within seconds.

"You're awake," she breathed, sounding relieved. "Don't scare me like that."

"Rose?" he asked, dazed. She nodded, kissing his forehead.

"It's okay, you're awake now. You were convulsin'."

"Rose I'm sorry…" he muttered, reaching up to trace her left cheek. "It's different every night…I'm not prepared…"

"Tell me about the dreams."

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

She raised a hand above his face, and slapped him across the cheek. The Doctor jerked in shock.

"Three years, Doctor!" she said in voice filled with disbelief. "Three years we've known each other, and I've been married to you for one of them! I've had your children and I'm currently carrying one! But you still can't trust me!"

"You wanna know?" he demanded, eyes suddenly ablaze as he turned to meet her gaze. "You really wanna know?"

"Yes!" Rose hissed back, she would've shouted but for the other sleeping people in the flat. "I wanna know every goddamn thing there is to know about you because I love you and I want to help you and I can't do that when you won't even tell me what you're dreamin'!"

Instantly his anger melted away, replaced by innocence. She was glaring at him in that withering way, and the Doctor couldn't bottle it away forever. The damn bottle would explode.

So he began to tell her everything.

* * *

He awoke first the next morning, Rose's body intertwined with his. He happily sighed to himself, leaning forward slightly to kiss her forehead. She didn't stir. He let his fingers climb up her bare skin from her swollen belly, being sure to handle her carefully as she roused, opening her eyes to meet his gaze. She smiled at him, welcoming his dab of a kiss on her lips. Breathing in deeply she yawned, stretching widely out on the double bed. The Doctor watched her actions, transfixed by every move she made as though it were a graceful dance.

"Cup of tea?" he asked gently, knowing by now to be delicate with her in the morning.

She hummed in approval, closing her eyes again. He slid out of the bed, pulling on a few clothes before quietly slipping out the door. He met Jackie in the kitchen, sitting at the table buttering some toast. She looked up on the Doctor's entrance.

"You look happy," she commented. The Doctor just nodded contentedly and moved towards the kettle, taking two mugs from the hooks at the top and setting them down on the worktop. "And you ain't half quiet."

The Doctor didn't even bother answering her. He was finally free. He'd told Rose everything last night, and it felt like all the weight on his shoulders had been lifted off. He flicked the switch on the kettle and gave a wave to Jackie, disappearing out of the kitchen door to check on his children.

He opened the bedroom door, seeing Lottie sleeping peacefully under the covers. However, Zoë was not there, just Drunky remaining in her bed. He frowned. Where could she have gone?

He checked the bathroom – empty. He checked the Living Room – empty. He checked every single room of the house for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. He bit his lip, suddenly terrified as the situation dawned on him. She couldn't go to the TARDIS, she was still in lockdown.

Then a man screamed, a howl of despair and shock. He recognised it well. That was Jack. Spinning back around he made to run to Jack and Jill's bedroom, bursting in through the door and suddenly stopping dead in his tracks at the sight now presented before him.

Jill was lying there in the bed, eyes closed, facing up. But that most apparent thing was the colour of crimson seeping over the front of her nightdress from the knife plunged into her, just above her womb.

"Doctor…" Jack whispered, and never before had the Time Lord seen his friend so frightened, shocked and vulnerable. "Please…"

"Jack, go and get Rose and Jackie," the Doctor ordered, knowing if Jack stared at her much longer he might breakdown. "Then phone an ambulance."

Jack nodded and disappeared out the door as the Doctor moved towards Jill. He hovered his cheek above her mouth and cast his gaze down her chest, seeing the struggling rise and fall of it with her breath blowing onto his face. She was still alive at least – he wasn't so sure about Dawn. But he wouldn't let the dream come true under any circumstance.

"Jill? Can you hear me?" he asked firmly, but knew it was next to useless. He quickly whipped off his shirt, applying pressure to the wound. Seconds later Jackie burst into the room closely pursued by Rose, and instantly they both stopped dead in their tracks, shocked.

"Doctor?!" Jackie almost screamed, still in deep shock, but too many thoughts were rushing through his head. Who would stab Jill? Who would be so selective of victims? Had Zoë been taken by someone or something?

Suddenly he was panicking. Where was Zoë? Where was his baby girl? Who had taken her? Had the same person who had taken her stabbed Jill? Why?!

"Jackie," the Doctor beckoned her, keeping as calm as he could. "Apply pressure around the dagger, don't get yourself cut though." She did so as the Doctor got onto his feet yelling, "try to get her conscious!" before he flew past Rose out of the door, heading straight to Lottie and Zoë's room. In the dream…there'd been blood…

He quietly opened the door, hoping not to wake Lottie and bring her into the chaos. He crossed the room and drew back the covers where Zoë had lain, praying and hoping…

Blood.

Even Drunky's arms were bloodied, just like the Doctor's own. But his were of Jill's blood. That meant…perhaps Zoë had not been hurt? If the killer had stabbed Jill and got her blood on their hands and _then _taken Zoë maybe they'd stained the sheets…

It was wishful thinking, but it was all he had to go on.

And where the hell was the ambulance?!

He ran back to Jack and Jill's room where everyone else was gathered, bursting in through the door as they all looked up, Jack now included.

"It's Zoë…" he said, still too shocked to be grief-ridden. "She's gone. Someone's taken her…"

* * *

**A/N: **So, where'd Rory get to, eh?

_Chapter 7 – Amylia_

"_Well then, boy, think you're clever? Answer me this! What is the weakest point on a Dalek?"_

"_The eyestalk," he answered flawlessly. The Professor fumed. _

"_What is a Dalek's battle cry?"_

"_Exterminate."_

"_What's their planet of origin?"_

"_Skaro."_

"_Have their been any records of Dalek activity recently?"_

"_No, sir, not since they tried to conquer Sol 3 and failed against the Bad Wolf. They're believed to have been wiped out," Rory finished. The Professor's eye was twitching._


	7. Amylia

**A/N: **In which Rory gets laid. Gosh, they grow up so fast!

* * *

Chapter 7 – Amylia

"…And now we move on to the anatomy of the Polymorphic Spotted Cosmotic Herring… As you can see the right wing spreads a diameter of ten smallcons with a contic depth of 6.9 smallcons with a large surface area of an estimated two bigcons…" the Professor droned on and on in a monotone voice as Rory Sigma-Tyler stared vacantly at the holographic projection of the aforementioned life form in the centre of the room, unconsciously tapping his pen in a steady rhythm on the desk. Professor Vantrosm wasn't the _worst _lecturer in the University, but he still needed to do something to rivet his audience.

The professors at the Universal University were extremely _old, _Rory had discovered. They also seemed to have some kind of extra sense when it came to identifying their students with previous ones. Three of them had already identified him as the 'son of Theta Sigma' to which they'd shake their heads disconcertingly at him saying, "I'll be keeping an eye on you, boy."

They also had a knack for being either incredibly boring or completely over-enthusiastic about their subject. Professor Vantrosm was quite obviously the former.

"Are you still alive?" came a whisper from his right and Rory felt a nudge in his shoulder. He grinned.

"Just about," he muttered back to Akron, a Pexian with greyish-coloured skin and big round eyes that looked like he was constantly wearing joke glasses. "You?"

"Think I died of boredom half an hour ago," Akron muttered back. Akron was one of the first people Rory had met at the University, and he'd been attending for over a year before Rory had arrived. He'd helped Rory out a lot since most of their classes were together. "Y'know, Charlyene is staring at you."

Rory frowned, turning to Akron who nodded across the room at a crowd of teenage girl aliens. His eyes connected with the eyes of a fat green alien girl with pathetic blonde ponytails smiling sweetly at him – he struggled not to retch.

"The green fat one?" he whispered to Akron.

"Only the fittest girl in the entire B Dorm!" Akron sounded aghast at Rory's words. Rory made a face at him.

"You're kidding right?" he looked back over to the crowd of girls, scanning until his eyes rested on one at the end, and his jaw dropped. "Who's the pretty one with the pink hair?"

Now it was Akron's turn to be disgusted. "That's Amylia, she's new. Pretty ugly though."

"You Pexians don't have _any _taste!" Rory murmured back, eyes connecting with Amylia's. He gave her a grin. She smiled back.

"Mr. Sigma-Tyler!" a voice suddenly cut through their contact and Rory whirled his head around to meet the Professor's gaze. "Perhaps you'd like to answer the question?"

"Polycarboid, sir," he answered without a hint of hesitation. "Dalek's outer casing is made from Polycarboid."

"Well then, boy, think you're clever? Answer me this! What is the weakest point on a Dalek?"

"The eyestalk," he answered flawlessly. The Professor fumed.

"What is a Dalek's battle cry?"

"Exterminate."

"What's their planet of origin?"

"Skaro."

"Have their been any records of Dalek activity recently?"

"No, sir, not since they tried to conquer Sol 3 and failed against the Bad Wolf. They're believed to have been wiped out," Rory finished. The Professor's eye was twitching.

"Detention Mr. Sigma-Tyler, _with _your lady friend! 6:00pm in the Detention Room!" he shouted, ears turning red with bottled anger.

"Sir, may I ask what for?"

"For answering back!"

Rory looked genuinely puzzled at these words. "But sir, you asked me some questions."

"6:00pm, Detention office! You too Miss Forest!" the Professor said as if it closed the matter, turning back to the holographic projection. Rory raised an eyebrow, leaning casually back in his chair.

"Yeesh," he said sideward to Akron, who had to try and hide his snigger. Rory looked over at the girl, Amylia, giving her an apologetic smile. 'Sorry,' he mouthed. She just smiled again and shrugged back.

* * *

_I will not answer back._

_I will not answer back._

_I will not answer back._

Lines. Possibly one of the most uninventive punishments ever created. Definitely one of the most human, Rory couldn't help but think as he cast a covert glance around the room at the other detentionees. Most of them looked like thugs, but centred in a group of them was Amylia. Her soft pink hair fell in curls about a human-looking face, smooth skin, thin frame. Her bright blue eyes harmonized perfectly against her hair with a cute nose and supple lips to match. He wondered what species she was. Not human, surely? Humans wouldn't come here for another hundred years or so.

Maybe, just maybe…

He focused his mind on the girl, trying to use what little power of psychokenesis he had to communicate with her. '_Amylia, Amylia, Amylia…' _he fired over and over again to her mind. '_Can you hear me? Amylia?'_

Her head snapped up from the desk, surprised at the sound. She looked around the room until she found him staring at her, and she tilted her head at him.

'_What?'_

It had worked!

'_Sorry again for getting you into this mess,'_ he projected it into her mind.

'_It's alright. Had nothing to do tonight anyway,' _she answered. Instantly thoughts began to fly through his mind as his face lit up. She was free? Was she…could she?

Then he realised she was laughing at him, and his face fell.

'_Here's a tip: only concentrate on what you want me to hear.'_

He instantly flushed a deep embarrassed red. She'd heard what he'd been thinking?! Oh man, she must've thought he was a right idiot.

He gave her a weak, half-smile. _'You're pretty, is what I meant to say.'_

She beamed. _'You're not so bad yourself. You look a bit like Jesse McCartney.'_

'_Who?'_

'_Ah, never mind, Sol 3 guy,' _she fobbed off.

'_You know about Earth?'_

'_Got a First Class Degree in Earthnomics. Love studying that planet. You been?'_

'_I was born on Earth.'_

She frowned. _'You're a human?'_

'_My dad's half-Time Lord half-human and my mum's human; sort of a mixture.'_

Her eyes widened to an impossible size. _'Time Lord?! That's incredible!'_

'_D'you wanna go out after this?' _he moved straight in for the kill. She looked surprised at the sudden change of conversation, but eventually nodded.

'_Sure!'_

"Miss Forest, Mr Sigma-Tyler," a loud voice suddenly cut through their telepathic conversation and Rory span around, shocked to see the detention teacher standing right next to him. "Would you kindly pay full attention to your work and not each other?"

Rory gave Amylia one last grin before they returned to work.

* * *

Weeks later and he and Amylia were truly in love – neither of them had ever been happier. They spent every waking moment together, just chatting and laughing the days away. They were like a cheese and pickle sandwich in the way they fitted together perfectly. But soon seeing each other during the day only just wasn't _enough. _They didn't have very many classes together so the time they had was limited. So they had devised a plan in which they could be together more – during the night.

So the teenage Time Lord was now preparing for a night of sneaking to be with her in her dorm.

"I can't believe you're about to do this," Akron was saying over and over again, staring at Rory in disbelief. "You're risking being expelled for _her?"_

Rory nodded. "I love her. I wanna be with her tonight."

"Going all the way?" Akron was grinning. Rory stared at him for a moment unable to believe how much people thought about sex in relationships.

"It's not about that," he replied with feeling, and Akron rolled his eyes.

"'Course it is!" he suddenly stopped, paused, and frowned. "You're not frigid or anything are you?"

Rory rolled his eyes, moving to the door. "No. It's just I have a little more respect for women than you do. She probably does it a different way to me anyway. She's a Shallan, different species."

"Meh, you'll be fine, show her that bruise you got from tripping over your pet Delorion and she'll be all over you." Akron gave him a supportive whack on the back as Rory pulled open the door and slipped outside.

Stealth was a talent he had, taking the drug dealer route to the lower girl's dorm. After being offered and politely rejecting several forms of substance he arrived at the lower floor, eyes searching the numbers on the doors. He needed ninety-three… Ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two…ninety-three!

There was no one around so he lightly tapped on the door, waiting for it to open. Seconds later it did, revealing Amylia in a tight-fitting nightie smiling broadly. She grabbed his shirt and yanked him inside, shutting and locking the door behind them.

"Thought you'd never come," she breathed, grabbing his face in two hands and they kissed passionately for a few moments, having not done so for at least three hours. She pulled him by the hand over to her bed, sitting down beside him and gazing into his eyes. "I love you, I really do, but I need more of you Rory," she was saying, and suddenly his conversation with Akron became a whole lot more relevant. "I…"

"You wanna go all the way?" Rory reached up to cup her face, placing another kiss on her lips. "If you're ready, I'm ready."

She was smiling her beautiful smile again, giving a hesitant laugh. "Now d'you wanna do it the human way or you got a better idea?"

* * *

**A/N: **Mmm, tomato and basil cuppa soup... :)**  
**

_Chapter 8 – Even Daddies Can Cry Too_

_Quickly throwing off the covers she didn't even bother with a dressing gown before tearing it to Jack's bedroom, bursting in through the door. There was Jack, sleeping eerily on his own. She moved over to him and shook him awake._

"_Jack!" she hissed, "wake up!"_

"_Huh? What is it?" he asked, understandably instantly alert._

"_It's the Doctor, he's havin' another nightmare."_

"_So? Wake him up."_

_Rose shook her head, hesitant. "I…can't. He won't wake up."_


	8. Even Daddies Can Cry Too

**A/N: **As I write this it is just under two hours until Turn Left airs. Yay! I'm gonna review reply this chapter. I am DETERMINED! It's a promise. Promise, promise, promise, promise! I never break my promises. So I will. Hopefully.

And on the subject of reviews, to every who has reviewed this story and especially to the people who reviewed the last chapter, THANK YOU!! If you've even written a long-chaptered fic then you'd know that every single review is like a Cadbury's chocolate square! It keeps you going. Wow, that's a GOOD metaphor.

And I feel like a mother when I think of Rory... we raised him, now he's all growed up! We nursed him since he was a blob in the womb! Well, not REALLY. But you get my drift...

Sorry, I think the men in white coats are already on their way...

* * *

Chapter 8 – Even Daddies Can Cry Too

They had left Lottie in the care of Howard, spending most of the day at the hospital. By the time they arrived back at the flat Jill had been moved to Intensive Care and not one of the doctors could predict about the future of the baby.

There was no word to describe Jack's feelings. Hysteria didn't even cut it. He was shocked – who wouldn't be if they'd woken up with a profusely bleeding woman beside them? He thought he'd seen everything. How _wrong _was he?

That coupled with Zoë's disappearance and the entire Tyler household were beside themselves with grief. Now the Doctor sat in Jackie Tyler's flat living room, staring at the now washed bear his little girl had left behind. It was the only clue he had as to her disappearance, and the attempted murder on Jill. The knife used to stab her had been fingerprint free, according to the police. They were searching for her, but personally the Doctor believed they wouldn't find her. He would be out there himself searching but with the TARDIS in lockdown and Jackie keeping him chained to the flat he couldn't do anything but sit and wait.

All he wanted to know was that Zoë was safe. He wasn't stupid. He knew that if they had taken her for ransom they would have established an ultimatum by now. Whoever had taken her had taken her for a specific purpose, and the Doctor could only dread to think what that purpose was. She was just a little girl. She was physically weak and defenceless. She was special too – with her seemingly hidden powers. Was that what they had wanted?

If he had protected her better – been a better father – maybe she wouldn't have been taken from right under his nose in their own second home. How could he have let something like this happen?! All this mixed with the dreams he'd been having, it was becoming too much…

It was ruining his relationship with Rose at any rate. They'd done nothing but argue since the incident had happened and neither of them had had a full night's sleep since before the nightmares had started.

It was happening just like the dream…Jill had been stabbed, Zoë had disappeared – how much longer until Lottie was crushed, Rose shot dead…?

Suddenly the anger he'd built up with the grief over the past few days was beginning to surface, aiming it wholly at himself. He was _useless. _He couldn't even look after his child and friend whilst they were under the same roof with him!

Then he was on his feet, throwing Drunky back down onto the sofa before launching out a foot to hit the coffee table with a 'crack', creating a huge split down the centre. His foot ached but he didn't care. Jackie, Rose and Jack watched him in alarm, his demeanour suddenly erratically changed from the man sitting there but five seconds ago.

Abruptly the grief overwhelmed him and he sank back down to the sofa, aching head in his hands. He forced back the tears, determined not to cry.

He felt a small hand rest on his knee, and he looked down to see Lottie standing there, her usually sparkling brown eyes now big and sad. She climbed up onto the sofa next to him, hugging around his middle as far as her arms would reach.

"It's okay," she said, "even daddies can cry too."

He gathered her up into his arms, holding her tightly to him. "It's okay, Lottie. Daddy's cried all he needs to." He kissed her forehead, getting up onto his feet. "Bedtime for you."

"I'm scared, daddy," she muttered, clinging tighter onto his jacket as they moved to her bedroom. "Don't wanna be by my own."

"I know, I know." He went through the door, flicking on the light switch and walking over to the bed to change her into pyjamas. She had been caught up in the middle of the abduction of her sister and murder of her aunt. She must've been as terrified of sleeping as he was at the present time. "But I'm gonna stay here with you, okay? Daddy's gonna stay and watch over you to keep you safe."

"Promise you'll stay?" she demanded of him sternly – a bit too much like Rose… Tearing himself away from the terror of this thought, he nodded.

"Promise. Now get into bed."

He tucked her in gently as she slid under the covers, curling up into a ball. "Can I have a story please daddy?"

"Sure you can." He leant forward to kiss her on the cheek. "Once upon a time there lived a boy named Harry Potter…"

* * *

"You haven't slept," Jackie said to the Doctor as he entered the kitchen the next morning. She had been watching him carefully since the nightmares had started, and she could now distinguish slightly dark areas under his eyes. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"So?"

"It's not good for you. I know you're an alien and you don't need it so much an'all that but with everythin' that's 'appened recently you _need_ to shut down and recover." He could feel her watching him intently, accessing him. He sighed.

"I wasn't _desperately _trying to stay awake y'know Jackie," he said, and it was at least partially true. The piercing headache through his skull had considerably helped in his staying awake. "Though it's not a bad idea."

"Please Doctor, don't treat yourself like this," Jackie was begging now. "It's just a bad patch in our lives. Everything'll go back to normal soon. Just you wait."

"I'm happy that you can believe that Jackie," the Doctor replied simply, picking up the tray of breakfast he'd prepared for him and Lottie. "But the police don't know anything. They don't know the first _thing _about what happened here. They're no closer to catching the culprit than you are."

Jackie stared at him for a few moments, looking as though she were about to slap him for his negativity. Finally she moved forward towards him, picking up her purse from the kitchen table and flipping it open, drawing out a wad of cash and putting it on the tray he was holding. Her next words came as a surprise.

"Get out of the house, it's killin' you. Take Lottie out for the day. I'll tell the others, don't worry. But the deal here is that you go to sleep tonight with Rose."

There was a brief pause between them, before the Doctor finally nodded and turned to pass through the kitchen door into the sitting room.

* * *

He was having another nightmare, and Rose was beginning to get fed up. He was thrashing around next to her, murmuring to himself in an unintelligible language as Rose opened her eyes. She elbowed him in the side – usually it worked. But he seemed to completely ignore it. She hit him again, this time harder. He carried on, oblivious.

Now she was getting worried. She sat up, looking over to him. Sweat clung to his forehead as he curled in on himself, a tear sliding down his cheek.

"Doctor?" she said loudly, giving him a slight shove. "Wake up."

He wasn't acknowledging her in the slightest. Now he was breathing through gritted teeth, gripping onto the pillow as though it were his only possession in the world.

"Doctor," she said firmly and loudly, shaking him even more so. "Wake up!"

He wasn't. He only seemed to be getting worse.

Quickly throwing off the covers she didn't even bother with a dressing gown before tearing it to Jack's bedroom, bursting in through the door. There was Jack, sleeping eerily on his own. She moved over to him and shook him awake.

"Jack!" she hissed, "wake up!"

"Huh? What is it?" he asked, understandably instantly alert.

"It's the Doctor, he's havin' another nightmare."

"So? Wake him up."

Rose shook her head, hesitant. "I…can't. He won't wake up."

Jack sat up, suddenly alert. He launched out of bed and took Rose's arm, leading her back towards the Doctor. He was thrashing around more than ever now, crying out loud with tears running down his cheeks. Jack bolted over to him, taking him by the shoulders to shake him awake.

"Wake up Doc!" he ordered, but the Time Lord didn't react. "Wake up!"

The Doctor was yelling, almost screaming at the top of his lungs. Jack realised there was no chance he could wake him up from this one. He simply leant over the Doctor, using his arms as barriers to prevent him from moving too far. Suddenly the Doctor began to cough chestily, as if he were breathing in smoke. He choked and coughed, twisting and turning on the bed with tears running constantly down his face.

His eyes snapped open, and stared right into Jack's gaze.

"No!" he suddenly yelled, trying to push Jack away. "Get off of me, GET OFF!"

"Doctor! Calm down!" Jack commanded, pinning him down by the shoulders forcefully.

"GET OFF!" he screamed, practically throwing Jack off of him with a force unbeknown to humankind, launching onto two feet and running over to the corner of the room. He sat down in the corner, curling in on himself tightly and shaking erratically. Jack picked himself up off of the floor, glancing at Rose before she started nervously towards the Time Lord, calling out his name with desperation.

"Rose?" Jackie suddenly called from the doorway but didn't wait for a reply as the sight of the Doctor focused in her vision. She pushed past Jack straight away and marched over to the Doctor, kneeling down next to him. "Doctor, can you hear me?"

"Please don't hurt me…please don't hurt me…" he begged over and over again, flinching away from Jackie everytime she reached out a hand to touch him.

"It's okay sweetheart, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm 'ere to help ya."

"Pl-please…you have to get out m-moth-ther," he muttered, "pl-please, they're here for _me,_ l-leave me pl-please mother, pl-please…"

Well, it was nice they were bonding to such a degree that he thought she was his mother in pure delirium Jackie couldn't help but think. She rubbed his back supportively, hand suddenly drawing away as he gasped with pain. She drew up the back of his shirt; jaw dropping at the sight that greeted her.

"Rose," Jackie beckoned her daughter, pointing at deep slice marks across his back. Rose reeled in shock.

"I've never seen those before…"

Jack got a good look too. "I've seen things this before in the Wars. They're whip marks."

"You don't think he's self harmin', d'you?" Jackie suddenly said, eyes wide. "He's not exactly been very…"

"Get a grip, mum," Rose said, shaking her head. "How the hell could he do that to himself? Someone's done it to him…" She wrapped her arms around her husband, trying desperately to coax him out of his shock-like state.

"Who?!" Jackie demanded to know. "Why didn't he tell us?"

"Rose?" the Doctor suddenly muttered, opening his eyes and looking straight into hers. She nodded.

"I'm here it's okay I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you recently I've just been worried…" she reeled off in one breath, giving him a light kiss.

"I'm sorry too…" he murmured, "I've just let everything crush me."

"Is there somethin' you'd like to tell us?" Jackie was the one to start the current issue in hand. The Doctor looked up at her, confused.

"Huh?"

"Doctor," Rose said quietly. "You've got whip marks all over your back."

He froze. "Wha-what?"

Rose watched him carefully, puzzled as Jackie fixed him with a hard stare. "Tell us, Doctor. How did you get them?" Jackie asked slowly and carefully.

"I don't remember…" He was staring at them all with slight panic in his eyes. "I didn't even _know…"_

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 9 – Dilemma For The Doctor_

"_Doc? Rose?" Jack began, and the Doctor opened his eyes to met Jack's gaze. "You both okay?"_

_The Doctor nodded as Rose pulled away from the Time Lord, wiping away her tears._

"_We're fine, Jack," she said, turning to him and forcing a smile on her face. "You?"_

_Jack decided to cut the rubbish and launch straight into it. "I've been called away."_

"_What?"_

"_Torchwood," Jack continued, "my team in Cardiff. They've called me and I've got to go back for a bit, sort out the mess."_


	9. Dilemma For The Doctor

**A/N: **Even though alerts are being gay (AGAIN!) I'm still gonna post otherwise my entire posting system collapses! You'll be glad to know (or not glad, depending on your outlook) I'm roughly three chapters ahead. Chapter Twelve is EPIC! (And also slightly long but hey...)

AND OMG! EPISODE TWELVE WAS INCREDIBLE!

* * *

Chapter 9 – Dilemma For The Doctor

"Well, we've been in this position before," Rose was saying as she dabbed the Time Lord's back with cotton wool soaked with TCP. "Funny how life comes full circle."

He winced as she worked. "I still hate TCP," he muttered, "it stinks and it hurts!"

"It'll stop infection," Rose said simply, fingering one of the wounds cut horizontally into his back. "Please tell me how you got them Doctor."

"I told you, I can't remember." The Doctor felt like he was repeating himself a million times over. "Don't you believe me?"

She suddenly stopped, falling silent for a moment. "I don't _want _to believe you…" she answered quietly, and the Doctor fully understood. "I'm scared, Doctor… If you can't remember what caused it…how can we stop it happenin' again?"

"It'll be fine, Rose," he tried to assure her, turning around to stare into her eyes, his look one of trust. "We always get through, don't we?"

After a moment's paused she nodded, if but a little hesitantly. She accepted a kiss, but couldn't stop thinking about the helplessness she felt inside…finally bursting into tears. The Doctor parted the kiss, enveloping her in a tight, protective hug, and that was how Jack found them minutes later, Rose sobbing into the bare-chested Doctor who was holding her as though he'd never let go. Jack instantly began to think of Jill. Apparently she was stable, but still in a critical condition. No news yet of Dawn's survival. He forced back the threat of tears. He'd done enough crying.

"Doc? Rose?" Jack began, and the Doctor opened his eyes to met Jack's gaze. "You both okay?"

The Doctor nodded as Rose pulled away from the Time Lord, wiping away her tears.

"We're fine, Jack," she said, turning to him and forcing a smile on her face. "You?"

Jack decided to cut the rubbish and launch straight into it. "I've been called away."

"What?"

"Torchwood," Jack continued, "my team in Cardiff. They've called me and I've got to go back for a bit, sort out the mess."

Rose was staring at him in disbelief, though the Doctor didn't seem all that surprised by it. "But…" she started, but then trailed off as she realised she had no absolute reason to make him stay. "But…we _need_ you."

"What can I say Rose? I'm a popular guy!" he joked, some of his old demeanour he'd lost since Jill's stabbing returning. He moved forward to embrace his best friends, who willingly obliged. "Promise I'll be back," he said seriously, giving Rose a peck on the lips. "And look after him," he carried on, indicating the Doctor with a brief nod. Rose nodded, smiling. He gave the Doctor a hug and a kiss too, before regarding his shirtless form still sitting on the sofa and giving a suggestive wink. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Have you told Lottie?" Rose asked as Jack moved back over to the direction of the front door, picking up a fully packed rucksack and throwing it over his shoulders. He nodded in answer to her question.

"She knows," he answered simply, looking forward towards the front door. "Contact me if anything happens."

"Likewise," the Doctor said, getting to his feet. "See you soon."

"Will do," Jack grinned and nodded, before turning and disappearing out the door.

"And then there were four," Rose sighed, pulling the Doctor back to sit down on the sofa, burrowing herself into his chest. The Doctor couldn't help but think with everything that had happened to him the past few weeks, that figure might soon become three.

Night came quickly. After everyone else had gone to bed he lingered on the sofa for a while, feeling human as he watched some late night B movie on Channel 4. He wasn't going to sleep tonight and no one had wanted to force him.

But something was wrong. He could feel it. The Doctor knew he had something important to do, but he couldn't quite remember what. He needed to go somewhere…do _something…_ But no matter how hard he thought about it that 'something' would not come. The feeling got more and more intense as the night droned on until he finally reached the conclusion that he _had_ to leave the flat to do the thing he couldn't quite remember. Leaving his family would be hard, but he knew if he didn't the something wouldn't get done, which would be _extremely _disastrous indeed.

It was 3:00am before he finally got onto his feet, making his way to Lottie's room.

"Lottie, wake up," the Doctor said gently into her ear, rubbing her back to bring her out of her sleep. She opened bleary eyes, staring at him in the little light provided by the bedside lamp. "I know it's late but daddy's got something important to tell you, okay?" he whispered, cupping her face in his hand. She nodded, yawning widely.

"What is it daddy?"

"I'm going away for a while from you all. I have something very important to do. But I just want you to know that I'll be back soon so don't worry." He kissed her on the forehead. "Look after mummy for me?" She nodded, reaching up to hug him around the neck. Gently he lowered her back down, tucking her in. "Sleep tight."

He crept out of her room quietly, picking up Drunky from the sofa as he crossed to his and Rose's room. He opened the door in silence, the slice of light highlighting Rose lying sleeping in the bed. He sighed. She was so beautiful. He crossed the room, dropping down next to her and producing a bouquet of flowers from inside his bigger-on-the-inside coat pocket, placing them down next to her head. Drunky was ripped again – this time up his back. No matter. He placed him next to the flowers. He pulled the cover up over her, before dabbing a kiss to her cheek.

Then he left the flat, and wasn't seen for three days.

* * *

"Is it living?" Yvonne Hartman was asking the man desperately.

The man looked sideward at her, cold black eyes staring into her gaze – her soul. "It is done," he said in a low voice, inhuman. He turned back towards his lab creation, leaning forward to watch it closer. Yvonne tried to smile casually despite how terrified she felt inside.

"It must be a good feeling for it to finally come together after so long," she said, and the man nodded.

"After countless years in the dark finally the Times Lords will stand tall again, courtesy of the Doctor…" – he paused, and turned towards the girl lain on the table in the centre of the room, unconscious – "…and his daughter."

* * *

**A/N:**

_Chapter 10 –__ Unnamed_

_His head was swimming as he tried to move his foot forward a step, but ended up collapsing into a heap on the floor. For a few seconds he just lay on the ground, trying to pull himself together. Finally he pushed himself up onto his knees, crawling across the floor to a sofa. He pulled himself up with the last of his strength before finally collapsing onto the cushions and closing his eyes._


	10. I Have Returnethed

**A/N: **Okay, I'm losing my sanity due to the cliffhanger on episode twelve and the fact I just had a day ENTIRELY DEVOTED TO SCIENCE!! AGGHHH!

So instead of the usual one chapter a week on a Saturday, you're gonna get one now whetehr you like it or not!

...I'll kill myself later when I'm trying to catch up though...

* * *

Chapter 10 – I Have Returnethed

The Doctor opened his eyes, meeting the dark interior of a flat. He blinked, confused and dazed as he tried to remember who he was and what had happened. He was…the Doctor, a Time Lord. Yes, that was right… He'd been…been…

Where had he been? Where was he?

His head was swimming as he tried to move his foot forward a step, but ended up collapsing into a heap on the floor. For a few seconds he just lay on the ground, trying to pull himself together. Finally he pushed himself up onto his knees, crawling across the floor to a sofa. He pulled himself up with the last of his strength before finally collapsing onto the cushions and closing his eyes.

* * *

"ROSE! ROSE! IT'S HIM!"

The Doctor awoke to the shrieking voice of a middle-aged woman right down his eardrum and consequently vibrating the ache in his skull, but was far too tired to bother opening his eyes to find the source. He heard a trample of footsteps and suddenly a second voice was screaming in his ear too.

"Doctor? Wake up! WAKE UP!" it shrieked, shaking him roughly; he found he had no choice but to open his eyes. Rose instantly came into view, sporting a look of a combination of terror, surprise, relief and anger. "Where the hell've you _been?!" _She didn't wait for an answer. "I was so worried, you just disappeared and I didn't know what to do and…"

"Shush," he begged, "my head…"

"'E's got a hangover!" Jackie Tyler instantly drew the conclusion. "He's gone on a bloody pub crawl, that's what!"

"Mum, shut up!" Rose commanded her in a discerning tone usually associated with aggravated pregnant women. Jackie instantly shut up. Rose turned back to him and cupped his cheek. "Where've you been?" she asked, but he was looking up at her with confusion. "What is it?"

"I can't remember…"

"Liar!" Jackie was screaming, "don't believe 'im, Rose!"

"MUM!" Rose roared, strongly aggravated. Jackie shut up again as Rose turned back and gave her husband a peck of a kiss on his lips. "You sure you don't remember?" The Doctor nodded.

"I just remember I had something really important to do, so I told Lottie, left stuff for you, walked towards the front door then everything's a blur since that to when you just woke me up."

Rose nodded, understanding. "Hold on, let's check you out," she said, pulling him to sit up as she unbuttoned his jacket and shirt before lifting his undershirt to reveal his chest beneath. She examined it over before turning him around, expecting to see the markings across his back but to her complete surprise they had disappeared.

"You don't _usually_ heal that fast, do you?" she asked him as she trace a finger where the lacerations had once lingered. "They're completely gone. No markings anywhere."

"Would take three weeks for me to heal to that extent normally," the Doctor said as Rose checked his arms. "Well…" he started in the tone of voice that said an explanation was imminent, "I might've been away three weeks yet to you it's only been three days as something has returned me three days after I left despite having been three weeks to me."

Jackie was staring at him blankly, but Rose nodded.

"Makes sense," she said as she began to check his legs over for injuries, but could come up with nothing. "You're fine, not a scratch on you."

"Well, there's something to aspire to." He grinned inanely up at her. "Head hurts though."

"Aww, my poor Doctor," she said as she leant forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "He's got a headache. Here." She reached over to the other sofa; emerging back into his vision was Drunky in one hand. "We mended him and all." She tucked Drunky into the crook of his arm, drawing the blanket draped over the back of the sofa over him. "You get some sleep."

His eyes widened, suddenly all humour vanished. "Rose…"

"Don't look at me with those puppy eyes and pouted lips," Rose said, shaking her head with a smile on her face – a result of the combined relief that he'd returned safely and how he looked so adorable right now. "You slept last night, didn't you? You didn't have any bad dreams then."

He paused, staring up at her. "Don't outsmart me."

She giggled. "Just go to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up."

"Cuppa tea would go down a treat…" The Doctor grinned as he closed his eyes.

"Don't push it mister." Rose tucked him in as though he were five-years-old. "Sweet dreams."

* * *

He awoke to the sound of a phone ringing loudly in his ears, and he opened his eyes to find Jackie Tyler picking it up.

"Hello?" She batted him on the shoulder to make him slide back down to lying position. There was a pause. "Hold on a mo," she said, and held out the phone to the Doctor. He frowned, confused. For him? He took the phone, pressing it against his ear.

"Hello?"

"_Is this Mr. Sigma-Tyler?"_

"Speaking."

"_I'm from the Universal University, I'm calling about your son, Rory Sigma-Tyler…"_

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Okay, whatever he did, I'll pay for the damages."

There was a polite laugh on the other end. _"No, it's my regret to inform you that he's been taken as seriously ill, and we would request you come and pick him up right away."_

"Ill?" the Doctor echoed. "What're his symptoms?"

"_The nurse has not informed me I'm afraid, are you available to immediately come and fetch him?"_

"Yes, of course, no problem," the Doctor said quickly, aware Rose was staring at him from above, eyes wide as the jigsaw fitted together. "We'll be right there."

"_Thank you sir, have a nice day."_

The Doctor set the phone down, staring up at Rose. "It's Rory. He's come down with something, and a pretty serious something by the sounds of it."

Rose instantly launched into 'mother hen' mode, rubbing her womb where baby Jack resided. "We need to get to him! How can we get there with the TARDIS in the lockdown? Doctor! What're we gonna do?!" Tears were now pouring down her face. "How're we gonna get to my baby?"

"Rose, Rose, Rose!" the Doctor tried to shush her, jumping up out of the bed and wrapping his arms around her. "It's fine, really it is. I promise I'll find a way." She nodded into his chest. He could feel his shirt getting damp. "We need to go back to the TARDIS, have another look."

Rose drew away as though she'd been burnt, staring incredulously at him with her hands snapping to her hips. "Don't you _dare!"_

"Rose," the Doctor began, dropping his hands down to rest on her swollen belly. "It's Rory who's in danger now, never mind me. Besides, this time I know what to expect so I'm prepared if she does do anything again."

She paused for a moment, before finally nodding. "I'm comin' with you. You need someone to look after you."

He nodded, taking her hand and pulling her towards the front door. "Allons-y, then. Jackie," he called.

"Yes?" a voice replied from the kitchen.

"We're just gonna go out for a quick walk, okay?"

"Okay."

The Doctor turned to Rose. "Where's Lottie?"

"She's at Howard's for today, thought you'd need the break." He nodded, squeezing her hand affectionately as they passed through the front door and made for the TARDIS on the street below. Upon reaching it the Doctor held out his key towards the lock, half expecting some kind of resistance but he didn't get it. He inserted the key and turned it gently, surprised to find it opened with ease. Rose grabbed his arm and clung on tightly, anticipating the worst as the Doctor pushed her behind him and he stepped inside the TARDIS.

Nothing happened.

The TARDIS wasn't crying anymore, he was sure of that much. Still with Rose clinging tightly to him he took a few steps forward, tensing up as he reached out to the console…

Nothing.

"Well that's strange," the Doctor muttered, ruffling his hair and he mused the situation over.

"Nothing's happenin'," Rose said obviously, drawing away from behind him a little but not letting go.

"I know," he replied, tapping a button to gauge a reaction. "She's healed."

"But…" Rose started, but trailed off to nothing.

The Doctor shrugged. "Well, whatever's going on we can go fetch Rory now," the Doctor said, already programming the TARDIS for the Universal University.

* * *

**A/N: **Chapter 12 is THE CHAPTER IS ALL STARTS! I hate this 'leading up' chapters but I've made a huge effort to never have filler chapters anymore in teh Ramble the Fourth. Seriously, everything COUNTS towards the plot!

_Chapter 11 – Meet The Parents_

"_He's in lurve!" Rose exclaimed, delighted as the three congregated in Nurse Carlah's office. The Doctor grinned at her thrilled expression. "She's nice," Rose carried on, "really pretty."_

"_She is," Nurse Carlah said with her smile, the smile that made Rose think of her grandma's smile. "She's been by his side the moment he came in."_

"_I'm too young to be a granddad again!" the Doctor moaned loudly, and Rose couldn't work out if he was actually being serious or not._


	11. Meet The Parents

**A/N: **As I type this it's roughly four hours thirty seven minutes until... THE episode. I'm dreading it. I seriously am. I want it to end HAPPILY dammit! But RTD will refuse us that! He WILL! (Pushes the Doctor and Rose together) KISS DAMMIT! KISS FOR LOVE WHEN NEITHER OF YOU ARE POSSESSED!

* * *

Chapter 11 – Meet The Parents

"Are you Mr. And Mrs. Sigma-Tyler?"

The Doctor looked up as he and Rose entered Reception, meeting the gaze of a young woman Shallan with long, curly pink hair and blue eyes standing nervously with her hands clutched together infront of her. The Doctor nodded in reply to her question.

"Please, call me the Doctor, and this is Rose."

She politely shook hands with the Time Lord. "My name's Amylia, I'm a friend of Rory's, please follow me." She beckoned to them both, striding with quick pace out the far door. The Doctor and Rose shared a glance before following on behind. Amylia led them down a system of corridors, taking them to a place the Doctor knew fairly well – the Infirmary. He'd been there far more than the average with various afflictions.

The Infirmary was just how he remembered it – white. Completely white. He had found the only true colour came from the Nurse's cheeks, the Nurse with the name…

"Carlah?" Amylia called, and instantly the very woman he'd been thinking about emerged from one of the adjoining rooms, holding an empty syringe. She had aged a little, but it was definitely her. "This is Mr. And Mrs. Sigma-Tyler, Rory's parents."

"Nice to meet you," Nurse Carlah said, swapping the hand the needle was in and extending it to shake Rose's own. "I'm Nurse Carlah, I've been looking after Rory." She turned to shake the Doctor's hand, but suddenly went rigid with surprise as she stared at him. He grinned at her.

"Something on my face?" the Doctor asked, running his fingers over his cheeks. The Nurse's face suddenly broke into an amazing smile, engulfing the Time Lord into a huge hug.

"Theta! It's been so long!"

"Around five hundred years," the Doctor replied absently, drawing back. "How'd you know it was me?"

"You've still got your mother's eyes," she said with a smile.

"Five hundred years with the same job!" The Doctor was impressed. "How've you been?"

"Things are a lot quieter without you here," she said, "I hope you've been looking after yourself."

"Oh, naturally," the Doctor answered, trying not to think about the catalogue of injuries he'd acquired over the past two years alone, never mind since he'd seen her last.

"When I saw his blood results I thought, 'Time Lord'! It would make sense that's you'd survive, you've pretty much survived everything else!" she was saying as she led them into the room she'd just exited. "He's here. I can't figure out exactly what's wrong with him, but he's as tough as you are. He's been sleeping for twenty one hours now."

The Doctor nodded, drawing back the curtain surrounding his son. He made his way over to the side of the bed, looking down at the teenage Time Lord so pale and weak. Rose stood on the other side of the bed, brushing back Rory's hair from his eyes, bruised and red ringed.

"Rory? Can you hear me?" the Doctor asked, slipping on his glasses to check the monitors. His heart rate was low, same with blood pressure. "Rory, open your eyes for me?"

He remained unresponsive, so the Doctor took a seat on the bed, reaching out to put his hands either side of the boy's head. He closed his eyes, Nurse Carlah and Amylia staring in confusion. They only had to wait a few seconds before Rory's eyes flickered open, and the Doctor drew his hands away.

"Dad?" he murmured, stifling a yawn before his eyes flickered to Rose on the other side. "Mum?"

"Stay with me. We're gonna take you back to the TARDIS, okay?"

"What happened?" he asked, and Amylia was the one to step forward, cupping Rory's hand carefully.

"You collapsed in Xenobiology," she said, "Professor Vantrosm thought you were faking it and yelled at you for a bit, so I called the Infirmary."

"Professor Vantrosm?" the Doctor echoed, raising his eyebrow at the name. "Don't take any rubbish from him Amylia." He paused for a moment, watching Amylia and Rory together. "Rose, Nurse Carlah, can I have a word?" He stared unblinkingly at Rose and Nurse Carlah, urging them to take the hint. They did, and together they left Rory and Amylia to their own devices.

Amylia watched them go for a moment, before turning back to Rory and sitting down on the bed beside him.

"I think they guessed," she said with a smile. "They seem nice."

It was small talk she knew, but she was trying to deny the truth. Rory was going to go back home, and that was in effect an eternal goodbye… Rory watched her face for the moment, reading this straight away. He sighed and beckoned her forward, kissing her gently.

"This isn't good bye forever Amylia," he tried to assure her, but she was shaking her head.

"You're a time traveller Rory…" She was sniffing back sobs. "If you find the University you might land too late, or too early…we'll never be at this point again."

"No, Amylia. I love you and I'll come back for you, that's a promise. I always keep my promises. When I leave, I want you to go to my dorm and check under the bed. Near the wall there's a small compartment. Flip the knot of wood on the right to the left and press down in the middle, and there's something in their I want you to have. I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you in person."

* * *

"He's in lurve!" Rose exclaimed, delighted as the three congregated in Nurse Carlah's office. The Doctor grinned at her thrilled expression. "She's nice," Rose carried on, "really pretty."

"She is," Nurse Carlah said with her smile, the smile that made Rose think of her grandma's smile. "She's been by his side the moment he came in."

"I'm too young to be a granddad again!" the Doctor moaned loudly, and Rose couldn't work out if he was actually being serious or not. She scolded him on the arm.

"Your nine hundred and I'm only…" she trailed off, suddenly realising she had no idea how old she really was. Life was timeless in the TARDIS. "…How old am I?"

"Twenty one," the Doctor replied, "twenty two in a month. Pre happy birthday!"

"Thanks," she answered. He beamed brightly as Carlah looked towards Rose's pregnancy.

"How far along are you, may I ask?" She reached out, but didn't touch.

"Eight months," Rose answered, openingly inviting her to touch her swollen belly. "Due in a month."

Nurse Carlah rested her full palm on it. She suddenly jumped, surprised. "Wow, that's the hardest kick I've ever felt!"

"Tell me about it," Rose said breathlessly, resting her own hand on it.

"Doctor, Rose, Nurse Carlah," suddenly came a voice from the doorway and they all turned to see Amylia standing there looking suspiciously as though she'd just been crying. "Rory's ready to go."

The Doctor nodded. "Thanks. We'll be right there." Amylia nodded back, and left the room. The Doctor helped Rose to her feet before they passed back through the door, the Doctor grabbing a wheelchair from the side and taking it in with him. At least, Rose presumed it to be a wheelchair as it floated in the air rather than using wheels to be pushed along.

"We'll be back in the TARDIS in no time," the Doctor assured Rory as he scooped the boy up in both arms and deposited him carefully in the wheelchair. Nurse Carlah covered Rory with a blanket as his head lolled to the side, his eyes half closing. Rose motherly kissed him on the forehead but surprisingly he still had enough energy to reach up and wipe it away.

"Allons-y then," the Doctor said, and less than ten minutes later the TARDIS was dematerialising from the Universal University spaceship park, back to the homely Earth.

* * *

Amylia entered the B-56 dormitory, now completely cleared of anything that may have link the room to its previous owner. All of his possessions had been moved by the staff and given back to his parents and the room no longer had that 'lived in' feel as the room had been given a complete cleanup.

She walked over to the bed, dropping down underneath the bed. Flip the knot of wood on the right to the left and press down in the middle… It opened! She rummaged around inside, half paranoid about plunging her hand straight into a space insect's nest but found nothing of the sort. Her hand enclosed around some kind of box and she drew it out, not looking at it as she shuffled backwards and onto her feet, dropping down onto the sheet-less bed.

It was a small black box with a silver catch. Nervously she drew up the catch, lifting the lid to reveal…

It was an engagement ring.

Amylia stifled a gasp, picking it carefully out of the slit and holding it up to the light from the open window. It sparkled as the precious gem caught the light. She closed her eyes, envisioning her love's face before she slipped the ring onto her finger.

"I do," she whispered.

* * *

**A/N:**

_Chapter 12 – Just When You Think It's All Dandy…_

"_On the contrary Doctor, I have the advantage." She nodded at one of the UNIT guards on her left, who obediently stepped forward holding up what looked like a tranquilliser gun. "Care to guess what's in there?"_

"_Your sanity?!" Rose yelled back, tensing against the Doctor's grip. He was staring at Yvonne, reading her face and mind._

"_Penicillin. Good old penicillin."_

_Rose stared at her, eyes wide. The Doctor was practically anaphylactic to penicillin… "You wouldn't."_

_Yvonne's cold smile broadened. "Shoot him." The guard took aim, and fired._


	12. Just When You Think It’s All Dandy…

**A/N: **Be warned, this chapter is a bit longer than a normal chapter.

And I've decided one chapter a week is stupid because I get too much done. I'm on chapter 16 - can you believe that?! I don't like being ahead. I like working on the edge :P Think I'll go back to my old system...

_Quick edit:_ I forgot (for the fifth time in a row) to remind you that the entire Ramble series is A/U pre-Army Of Ghosts, and takes account of the Eighth Doctor telemovie so the Doctor is half-human on his mother's side and all that. So Torchwood are still hanging around, doing their thang. And my original hypothesis on how Jack got his Torchwood was Yvonne rewarding him for his 'good work' (on when Yvonne first captured the Doctor in Ramble 1) and putting him in charge of his own Torchwood base (Ramble 1 was pre-Torchwood series 1, THAT'S how long I've been doing these things!). Does that make sense? No? Well the sum of it is: Eighth Doctor telemovie included, set pre-Army Of Ghosts in an Alternate Universe and Jack has his Torchwood base at the same time as Yvonne.

* * *

Chapter 12 – Just When You Think It's All Dandy…

The world was fuzzy, but at least now Rory could see. Someone was standing over him so he called out, "mum? Is that you?"

"Honey," Rose's voice replied, and he felt a warm hand rest against his cold skin. "How you feelin'?"

He gave a half-smile, a shiver of coldness running through him. "Pretty lousy…where are we?"

"In the TARDIS, your dad didn't wanna move you. You warm enough? You're so cold."

He nodded. "Well glad to see the plan is to crush me with blankets," he said with a grin, raising his head to look at the dozen or so blankets that covered him.

"Watch it, cheeky," Rose replied with a smile, tucking him in affectionately as the door to the bedroom suddenly opened and the Doctor stepped through, holding a tray of medical instruments with a stethoscope slung around his neck. Jackie was close behind him.

"The Doctor is in!" his father declared, moving over to them both as Jackie engulfed Rory in a suffocation hug. "Hold this, would you?" he offered the tray to his mum who took it carefully. His father dropped down onto the edge of the bed and took off the stethoscope, checking Rory's hearts rate. A moment's silence.

"How long I got?" Rory asked jokingly, resting his head back on the pillows as the effort of looking up rid him of his energy.

"Still beating a bit slow," the Doctor said, frowning as he slung the stethoscope back around his neck, reaching for the medical scan on the tray Rose held. "Anything happened to you recently that could've caused this? Like, something weird or not usual?"

Instantly thoughts of Amylia flooded his mind as his eyes eased open to let in a slice of vision.

"N-no…" he stuttered out. Could his relationship with Amylia have caused this? Either way, his gran couldn't find out… She'd blow a fuse. Infact, several. His father was watching him closely now, checking the scanner to interpret the results.

"Blood pressure's low too. Your antibody count has plummeted to almost nothing," he said, before looking up at Jackie Tyler hovering at the side. "Couldn't get us a cuppa, could ya?" She looked as though she were about to explode, but still nodded and disappeared out the door. The Doctor turned back to Rory, expression serious. "What is it?"

Okay, this was the _height _of embarrassment.

"Umm…Amylia," he said, like it explained everything. The Doctor nodded, understanding.

"And I'm presuming it was more than just a kiss?"

Rory glanced over his father's shoulder to his mother beyond, and then nodded.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's not that," his father assured him with a charismatic smile. "No… It's like something's been draining your energy, and now you're back with us it's being put back again." He hummed for a moment, clicking his tongue thoughtfully.

Then he realised.

"YES!" he yelled, bolting up onto his feet with his arm raised in the air, "I'm so _thick!"_

"Doctor…" Rose poked him in the shoulder to get his attention. "What is it?" The Doctor raised and pointed his finger at Rory.

"You're a rechargeable battery!" He beamed. Both his wife and son stared at him blankly. He sighed, backtracked his mind and retook his seat next to the bed. "The TARDIS is keeping you alive," he said simply and clearly.

"What? Why? How?" Rose instantly asked, and the Doctor waved a hand to bat her comments away.

"Getting there," he assured her. "To be totally honest with you, I was frankly surprised that you got pregnant at all, Rose. I would've probably talked you into aborting if I'd been around at the time because I wouldn't have believed any child that we ever had could've survived more than a few days. Reproduction with other species was forbidden by the High Council because of the loss of life it caused when babies died just a few hours after birth. They weren't strong enough to survive because they were hybrids from two different species and as a result usually something important was missing like the second heart."

"But I didn't have a second heart till I regenerated," Rory pointed out validly.

"No, neither did I," the Doctor answered, leaning forward in his chair. "I mean throughout all their regenerations they'd have one heart. Causes chaos on the internal system until it all finally falls into complete internal failure and the hybrid dies, not having the capacity to regenerate in their genes. I'm almost glad you regenerated early – saved you a whole world of bother." He merged the subject back into the original question. "So the TARDIS saw this and started to 'charge' you with some kinda timey-wimey-vortex-stuff, ensuring that you'll survive until you're strong enough to cope on your own. See those?" He waggled his fingers in front of Rory's golden eyes. "Like a light to say it's recharging."

"That makes me feel _really _important, dad," Rory commented lightly. "So to summarise?"

"Well…" the Doctor began. "Basically if you stay out of the TARDIS' range for too long you'll slowly pine away and die, but only until you're properly and physically mature. And also your immune systems are very weak so I don't want you stepping outside the TARDIS, okay? You could catch something and your body can't take it right now."

"Tea for everyone!" Jackie's voice suddenly came from the doorway, and the woman in question entered holding a tray off assorted mugs. The Doctor grinned and bounced to his feet.

"Top banana," he said, taking the largest mug on offer. "Well, I think we're done here."

"What was it?" Jackie queried, setting the tray down on the bedside table.

"Nasty alien form of the flu," the Doctor answered, taking a sip. "Be gone soon enough."

Then Rory asked the question. "Where're Lottie and Zoë?"

"Lottie's at Granddad Howard's sweetheart," Jackie answered as she saw her daughter about to launch into tears, and the Doctor standing absolutely rigid.

"And Zoë?"

Silence.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"I'll get it," the Doctor suddenly burst back into life, setting his tea down on the side and bolting out the door towards the TARDIS entrance. The second he opened it he heard a loud shriek and was promptly knocked over by a hysterical Lottie Sigma-Tyler jumping onto him.

"Daddy!" she yelled, sitting on his chest as he was sprawled out on the floor.

"Hey Lottie," he gasped, trying to sit up so he could breathe again.

"I missed you," she said into his chest and he laughed out loud, holding her tightly.

"I missed you too," he said, pushing himself onto his feet one handed with the other cradling his daughter. "Did you have fun at Granddad's?"

"We gotted ice cream!" Lottie replied, refusing to let go of him. "It was chocolate!"

"Mmm," the Doctor replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm jealous of you now. Think I've got some banana ice cream somewhere…"

"More ice cream!" Lottie yelled in delight. He grinned, looking up to Howard O'Hanon.

"Thanks for looking after her. Want a cuppa tea?"

"No thanks Doctor," Howard replied in that familiar Irish accent. "Is Jackie in?"

"Yeah, I'll just get her for you," the Doctor answered, turning with Lottie still clinging onto him tightly as he made his way back through the TARDIS, finally meeting Jackie and Rose both now in the kitchen sipping their tea.

"Hey honey!" Rose exclaimed upon seeing Lottie in the Doctor's clutch. "Granddad Howard been treatin' you well?"

"Tell 'em daddy!" Lottie yelled.

"They had ice cream," the Doctor supplied, taking a seat and drinking his tea one handed as Lottie still refused to let go of him. "Howard's at the door, Jackie."

She nodded, finishing off her cup before getting onto her feet, kissing Rose, Lottie and the Doctor goodbye (the Doctor had provided his customary resistance) before exiting to Howard.

The Doctor glanced at the clock – 8:00pm. No wonder Lottie was being so quiet. Zoë seemed to be the only child who went to bed when she was told with no resistance. Zoë… The thought made his angry and depressed so he decided he'd be better off thinking about something else instead.

"Hey, guess what time it is Lottie?" he began, but she remained quiet. He looked down, but was surprised to find she was already asleep. He raised his eyebrow at Rose, who silently giggled.

He put Lottie to bed before returning to Rose, and he surprisingly agreed to watch a film. After two hours of watching the Titanic and Leonardo DiCaprio sink with Rose asleep in his arms the Doctor found he'd slotted neatly back into the domestic hole he'd left. If only his Ninth self could see him now…

As the ending credits began to roll Rose stirred, and awoke to the Doctor staring down at her.

"Have you got some hankies? I just might cry," he said without a hint of seriousness in his voice. Rose sighed contentedly, patting her pockets down to go with his joke.

"No, I ain't got them today, sorry," she said with a giggle, before it suddenly turned into a frown. "Tell you what I haven't got, though."

"Your brain?" the Doctor suggested casually, and she promptly whacked him on the arm, a little harder than usual. He whimpered.

"My mobile. I musta left it at mum's."

The Doctor nodded. "Want me to go get it?"

"I'll come," she said, trying to get onto two feet but kept failing dismally as her belly seemed to 'get in the way'. She felt like an upturned tortoise. Finally the Doctor lost his amusement when she whacked him again and he helped her to her feet.

But as he opened the TARDIS blue doors he couldn't prepare himself for what was coming next.

"Hello, Doctor," Yvonne Hartman's cold, clear voice said from somewhere behind the barrel of the gun pointing straight at his face. "I believe we have some unfinished business."

"Yvonne Hartman," he spat the name, pushing the gun out of his face angrily. "I have no quarrel with you. Please leave us alone." He took Rose's hand, slamming shut the TARDIS door before leading her away from them.

"Oh, but I have something that might be of interest to you," she carried on, but the Doctor continued to walk on. "She's got blonde curls and really is very pretty."

The Doctor froze, silence reigning supreme for a moment before he slowly turned back around, fixing her with a cold, hard stare.

"You bitch!" Rose screamed in fury, making forward towards the woman but the Doctor grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"You'd better not have hurt my daughter," he grated, gritting his teeth with fire dancing in his eyes, "give Zoë back to me or you'll regret it."

"On the contrary Doctor, I have the advantage." She nodded at one of the UNIT guards on her left, who obediently stepped forward holding up what looked like a tranquilliser gun. "Care to guess what's in there?"

"Your sanity?!" Rose yelled back, tensing against the Doctor's grip. He was staring at Yvonne, reading her face and mind.

"Penicillin. Good old penicillin."

Rose stared at her, eyes wide. The Doctor was practically anaphylactic to penicillin… "You wouldn't."

Yvonne's cold smile broadened. "Shoot him." The guard took aim, and fired.

"No!" Rose yelled, but it was too late to do anything as the dart flew through the air and implanted itself into his left shoulder. The Doctor grabbed the dart, wrenching it out of his skin before dropping to his knees, fervently scratching the area of entry. He looked up at Yvonne Hartman who was now laughing heartily like a true megalomaniac. Rose was holding him tightly whispering reassurances in his ear.

"These soldiers are UNIT and you're commanding them! Torchwood and UNIT are working together!" the Doctor yelled with a slur on his words, feeling his blood pressure starting to drop… "How?!"

"Easily. By the elimination of Jill Lethbridge-Stewart, the main connection of the Doctor to UNIT…"

"You bastards!" Rose cursed again, the Doctor beginning to go limp in her arms. "You tried to murder her and her baby!" Rose could hear the Doctor start to wheeze as he no longer had the strength to hold his own body up and he slipped, hitting the floor. Rose heard some people move forward, but she knew if they touched him they'd take him away…

"Stay the hell away from him!" she screamed, and with a single command from Yvonne Hartman they stood still. The Doctor's face was beginning to swell, sweat clinging to his forehead…

"We can treat him, Rose," Yvonne was saying from a distance. "If we don't, he'll die…"

"Doctor, please," Rose whispered, voice shaking, "please…" He was convulsing beneath her now as the penicillin took full control. Tears began to fall down Rose's face. If Torchwood treated him he would be taken away, but if they didn't he'd die…

"Time's ticking Rose, it's your choice. Will he live or die?"

Rose's thoughts turned to regeneration. Could he regenerate under penicillin? Surely it would just continue to infect his next body? It was a lose-lose situation… Rose kissed him fully before his eyes slipped closed and he fell into unconsciousness. She gathered him up in her arms, cradling his body.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…"

She held him tightly, somehow willing the process to reverse but already knew it would do no good. She had no choice. She looked up at Yvonne Hartman with hatred in tear-filled eyes, slowly lowering him back down to the ground as carefully as it was possible. She got onto her feet with an arm around her pregnancy bump, stepping away from him to allow them in.

"Good decision, Rose," Yvonne said in a voice that oozed triumph, the medics moving forward to the Doctor on the ground as one crossed over to restrain Rose. Rose couldn't even see what was happening but minutes the medics confirmed the Doctor was as stable as he could be and she breathed a sigh of relief. He was on the way back to consciousness as well; a medic moved slightly and Rose could see his head moving from side to side accompanied by weak, nonsensical mutterings into the Oxygen mask over his face.

"Sedate him. I don't want him causing trouble on the way," Yvonne Hartman ordered to which the medics obeyed, and Rose watched them plunge a needle into him. Seconds later he stopped moving altogether. It was Sedate-The-Doctor Week again, apparently.

He was hoisted onto a gurney, straps fastened around him to prevent any kind of movement. Seconds later he'd disappeared into the back of a truck and it drove off down the road, leaving Yvonne and Rose to confer.

"As for you, we've got something else in mind…" Yvonne cast her gaze down to Rose's womb. Rose's eyes narrowed.

"Don't you fucking _dare," _she cursed for third time in the space of two minutes, pregnancy hormones flaring. "Don't touch my baby. Don't even _think _about it because if you do…" she paused, the same fire dancing in her eyes that had occurred in the Doctor just a couple of minutes previously. Rose suddenly half-laughed, humourlessly. "I don't even need to say the rest."

Fear flickered through Yvonne's eyes and Rose couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied as the UNIT soldiers took her away.

* * *

**A/N: **I wanna do that thing that **rosie-bec **does, y'know? The 'coming soon' thing. But I wouldn't know where to start O.O Are there any rules to that?

Yeah, I'll review reply this chapter coz it was an epic one. Get your questions and interesting reviews at the ready!

_Chapter 13 – Unlucky Number Thirteen_

_Thankfully the head section of his bed had been raised so it didn't take any effort to look at the person who'd just entered: Yvonne Hartman. He heard and felt his hearts rate increase considerably at the sight of her. But who was that behind her? Tall… black hair…_

_It was Jack._

"_Hello, Doctor. I trust you slept well?" Yvonne's voice came._

_He was too tired to reply, eyes following Jack as he moved over to him and began to 'adjust' a few of the tubes attached to him. Surely… Jack… He hadn't betrayed them, had he? He had disappeared at the most 'convenient' of moments…_


	13. Unlucky Number Thirteen

**A/N: **Oh, I forgot to add last time that in this A/U Mickey didn't feck off to be gay buddies with Jake at the end of Age Of Steel.

* * *

Chapter 13 – Unlucky Number Thirteen

The Doctor awoke to extremely unnerving surroundings.

He was lethargic and nauseous, his throat raw and headache prominent. After effects of the drugs he knew, probably coupled with any remainders of his anaphylaxis. He tried to sit up but found it impossible to move, as the binds securing him to the bed he was lying on were tightened to blood-stopping point. Blinking away drowsiness he examined his unfamiliar surroundings with intent: the space age like design, the metal rivets and sheer dullness of the grey walls caging him in a room in dimensions of a perfect four by four.

There was a modern-looking screen set in the wall to his left, and the Doctor suddenly realised he could hear his own heartbeats loud and clear through repetitive beeps. His blood pressure was being monitored through a plastic clasp on his right forefinger and he was breathing in pure oxygen from the mask secured on his face. Granted though, he was quite comfortable if he ignored the binds. All expenses had been spent on the pillows and bed sheets he was using by lying there.

Then the door opened.

Thankfully the head section of his bed had been raised so it didn't take any effort to look at the person who'd just entered: Yvonne Hartman. He heard and felt his hearts rate increase considerably at the sight of her. But who was that behind her? Tall… black hair…

It was Jack.

"Hello, Doctor. I trust you slept well?" Yvonne's voice came.

He was too tired to reply, eyes following Jack as he moved over to him and began to 'adjust' a few of the tubes attached to him. Surely… Jack… He hadn't _betrayed _them, had he? He _had_ disappeared at the most 'convenient' of moments…

But as their eyes met the Doctor was instantly reassured by Jack's look, the look that was saying, "TRUST ME" over and over again in block capitals. He was playing double agent. The Doctor blinked at him, reassuring the ex-Time Agent that he'd got the message. Jack turned back to Yvonne, shaking his head at her.

"He's not strong enough for this right now. We should wait."

"We can't afford another day, Jack."

"I know, Yvonne, but an energy extraction in the proportions you're talkin' of would kill him instantly so close after his anaphylaxis."

Yvonne paused for a moment to consider this, before finally nodding. "We'll double the energy extraction on the other subject to compensate for today then."

The Doctor watched Jack as a flicker of fear and anger flashed through his eyes, too quick for Yvonne to possibly see.

"Yvonne, I recommend we give it a quick break for today until the Doctor is ready for the energy extraction. We can triple the rate on him to get back the loss."

Yvonne looked unconvinced for a moment, before finally nodding at his suggestion.

"Whatever you think is best, Jack."

"Thank you," Jack replied, still checking the Doctor over. Brief, silent seconds passed before Yvonne turned and passed back through the door. Jack held the silence for a few moments, before managing a quick, covert glance around the room. "No cameras," he said out loud, "they haven't been installed yet."

"Rose?" the Doctor forced out, and Jack grinned reassuringly at the Doctor as he checked his eyes.

"She's in Torchwood One in London, Doc. I don't know what they're doin' there, but it's okay. It's not bad, I know that. But to be honest, it's _you_ that you should be worried about. If you don't get out by tomorrow…"

"Zoë?"

"She's here somewhere, Doc. I haven't seen her and I don't know for sure where she is but she needs to get out too, the both of you, as soon as you can. Tonight I'll take you both straight out of here and get an escape pod back to Earth's surface." He drew back the covers, slackening the binds so the Doctor had some freedom of movement before he drew up the cover again and tucked him in as though the Time Lord were five-years-old. "We're in Torchwood Four in an orbiting spaceship."

"Four?" the Doctor echoed, confused. He could've sworn Torchwood Four had been lost…

Jack nodded. "Turns out Torchwood Four had been using some technology they found and were building a spaceship. They launched, but never managed to establish contact with the surface until two months ago. It's the perfect place to do this 'experiment' without outside interruption. And no, I don't know anything about the 'experiment' so don't look at me like that. Get some sleep. If you can't walk by tonight then there's not a chance in hell escapin' will work."

The Doctor nodded, before submitting to the need and closing his eyes.

* * *

"What have you done with the Doctor?"

The two men gripping Rose's arms firmly did not reply as they forcedly walked her down the long expanse of white corridor that seemed to go on forever. She tried again.

"Where is he?"

Again, no reply. It was like talking to a brick wall. She'd just spent half a day being interrogated, in which she'd been unable to control her flaring pregnancy hormones and had given her interrogator a cringe-worthy renowned Tyler slap. She didn't think he had liked her very much for that.

"'Scuse me! I have a right to know!"

They remained impassive. She sighed.

"Look, I'm very tired, very hungry and _very _pregnant so please can you just tell me if the Doctor's here or not?"

Silence. She didn't get a chance unleash the Tyler gene before they reached a doorway, one of the guards releasing her from his grip and unlocking the door in a handprint mechanism.

"Ooo, very chic," she commented, gesturing at the handprint scanner. "Do they come in a range of colours too?" It was just about then Rose realised what her mum had been saying about her turning into the Doctor really _had _been the truth.

The door buzzed open to reveal a small grey featureless room and she was released, thrown through the doorway and onto the floor. She cried out in alarm, turning back over and looking up at the guards, scowling. She didn't need to say anything when they suddenly looked incredibly guilty, closing and locking the door.

Her attentions turned to her belly where baby Jack was, resting her palm in the centre.

"You okay?" she asked, and she felt an exceptionally large kick to the centre of her hand that almost sent her flying backwards with the opposing force. "Yep," she breathed.

She took a glance around the room, wondering if the Doctor was in the same predicament – and thinking of her. What were they going to do to him? What had they already done? She didn't know why she was so worried about him, he was perfectly capable of handling himself but he just seemed to be a little more helpless over the past couple of years – ever since she'd found out she was pregnant with Rory.

Rory… Lottie… Zoë…

But she shouldn't be worried, she knew. It was just her hormones going on a rampage. She felt like crying… she was… she was going to cry…

Curling up into a corner she put her head into her hands, and began to weep.

* * *

"Doctor?"

It was the voice of Jack. Had 'tonight' come already? He opened his eyes and saw the very person standing over him along with Yvonne and a couple of UNIT guards standing behind.

"Hello," the Doctor said brightly, "what can I do for you?"

Jack drew back the covers, undoing the binds currently holding him in place as he gave him a quick smile.

"Just a check up, nothin' to worry about. Give it your best shot," he said, disconnecting the Time Lord from the machines before sliding his arm around him for support, hoisting him vertical with a grunt of effort. "Let's walk from here to the wall and back again, reckon you could do that? One foot in front of the other…"

"Yes, thanks. I do recall how to walk," the Doctor replied in a slightly sarcastic tone. Jack couldn't help but smile as he started forward, the Doctor with him.

The Doctor tried to walk, he really did, but the action of lifting his foot didn't seem to occur at the same moment his brain wanted it too. He kept tripping over and had to rely on Jack to keep him from falling flat on his face. By the time they reached the wall he was beyond exhausted, panting for air and on the verge of fainting.

"C'mon Doc!" Jack hissed so Yvonne and her UNIT guards couldn't hear, "get it together!"

"I'm trying!" the Doctor hissed back.

Slowly, they made their way back to the bed before he collapsed onto the covers, shattered with the effort. Jack was frowning, half fearful, half disappointed. There was no escape for tonight. If he could hold Yvonne off…

"I'm sorry, Yvonne. He's not in any shape for it yet."

"You're doing the wrong tests, Jack," Yvonne said, gesturing towards one of her guards. "Sebastian?" The UNIT guard nodded, walking forward towards the Doctor whilst drawing out something from his holster. The instant Jack saw what it was he launched over to try and protect the Time Lord, but he wasn't quite quick enough as the cattle prod was thrust into the Time Lord and instantly he cried out with combined agony and shock, electric coursing through his limbs.

"Stop this, Yvonne!" Jack yelled at the woman, but she ignored him, staring at the Doctor to gauge his reaction. It had easily been over twenty seconds since it had begun but the UNIT guard hadn't stopped. Jack could only watch as his best friend was tortured right in front of him… Finally after forty seconds of constant electric Jack was unable to take it any longer and he dived forward, hitting the rod away and grabbing the Doctor into a protective hug. He could feel the Time Lord still spasming in his grip.

"Excellent," was the word Yvonne finally came out with after a brief five second silence. "If he can take that then he's really for the extraction."

"No, Yvonne!" Jack shouted back, "look at him!" Yvonne did so, seeing the Doctor clutching weakly on Jack, eyes sunken, body spasming beyond his control and quiet, rasping breaths coming through gritted teeth. "He can't take it, not now."

"Jack, I don't know why you've developed this special bond with the Doctor since he arrived but you're now trying to command things you have no control over. I also take commands from higher authority and even if I disagree with them, I carry them out. Now prepare the Doctor for extraction or you will be dismissed from your post here at Torchwood… forever."

Jack bristled, but knew he couldn't reach that point. To be dismissed involved memory wipes or even assassination, and neither of them were favourable options for him. Torchwood were not yet aware of his immortality, and it was probably best to keep it that way.

Slowly, he nodded.

"Thank you. I shall expect his presence in the extraction room in ten minutes," she said, turning around with her guards to exit out the doorway. For a few moment Jack just held the still spasming Doctor, kissing him on the head.

"I'm so sorry, Doc," he whispered and the Doctor looked up into his eyes – Jack could tell he wasn't scared.

"It's ok-kay," he replied through a spasm that only served to make Jack more distraught.

"I can't let this happen," Jack was saying, for some reason feeling as though he were about to cry for the first time in a while. "It'll all be my fault. I can't willingly put you in pain."

"I've b-been through worse. Much worse." He grinned at Jack, pulling away from the ex-Time Agent's grip. His spasms were wearing off. "Let's get it over and done with. And who knows – maybe we'll find Zoë."

Jack nodded once again, unable to counter the Doctor with anything substantial. "Wait here," he said, getting up off the bed and disappearing out the door. Seconds later he returned wheeling a gurney with leather binds down it, moving it next to the bed. He grabbed the Doctor in both arms, lying him down on the gurney as though he were made of gossamer. He did up the binds though not too tightly, before he disappeared out of the Doctor's vision for about twenty seconds. He returned with a needle in hand the Doctor could already guess was his absolute best friend in the world – sedate.

"This isn't permitted, but it'll zone you out for a bit so you won't get all the pain." The Doctor nodded as Jack tied something around his right arm and pain started where the needle had just been inserted into an unpunctured vein. Seconds later he felt totally relaxed, sinking in a state of half-consciousness and he felt vaguely aware of moving down a corridor.

"Ah Captain," a voice swam through his head, "is this the other subject?"

"Yes," Jack's voice answered, "but he's had an anaphylactic reaction and any severe physical distress could send him into a coma."

"Double the rate, Yvonne said."

"Yeah, but… Can you do me favour? The other subject. Lay off for a while."

"You're saying that as though I enjoy it, Jack. I'm not a complete monster. I'm happy to lay off it. Is this the father?"

"Yes."

"These aliens…" the voice sighed. "They look so damn human, which makes it feel so wrong. Let's get this started then."

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 14 – The DoctorRose_

_He marched over to an adjoining door, giving a buzz with the Sonic. The door wouldn't budge. He pushed it firmly, determined. Jack moved beside him and helped to push it, the metal scraping against the cold metal floor. The Doctor looked up into the room but then suddenly froze on the spot – Jack was about to moan at him for the collision when he looked up into the centre of the room, and froze too._

"_Zoë," he breathed._


	14. The DoctorRose

**A/N: **Whups! Did my Doctor-torturing hand slip?

I swear I had something important to say... And I mean something IMPORTANT. Not just a random comment about cheese or anything. Oh well. It'll come back five minutes after I post this chapter, most likely.

* * *

Chapter 14 – The DoctorRose

"How's it going, Jack?"

Jack didn't bother turning to meet Yvonne's gaze, his teeth gritted, jaw set. "His vitals are low."

"But the extracted energy is high," Yvonne countered, as if it justified everything. "Good work. The boss will be pleased."

Jack was fuming. "Don't you see this is _wrong _Yvonne?!" he yelled, unable to watch as another bolt was sent through his best friend. "The Doctor saves our planet every damn day of our lives and the first thing you do when you get your hands back on him is put him and his daughter through pointless torture! It's a wonder he hasn't given up on this entire planet! He keeps comin' back because he _cares _for the human race, but what you're doin' now is everythin' that's _inhuman!"_

"Jack, understand I'm not doing this for my own pleasure…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Jack fobbed it off. "'Energy extraction for your boss!' Who the hell _is _your boss anyway? Are you sure _they're _even human?! What do they need all this Time Lord energy _for _anyway?! What if they're just _usin' _you to take over this planet?!"

Yvonne stared hard at him for a moment, shaking her head as if disappointed in Jack. "Are those really your views?"

"Yes!"

"…Then Captain Jack Harkness, you have become expendable. I have orders from my boss to eradicate anyone displaying signs of uncertainty. You are ordered to step down from your post."

Jack span around to her, only to find himself fully restrained by three UNIT guards, hands tightly cuffed behind his back.

"End it for today," Yvonne was saying to the person currently zapping the Doctor. He nodded, stopping. "Tomorrow we will double the extraction to four times the strength…"

"You'll kill him!" Jack exclaimed, horrified and angry.

"Oh, I don't think you'll be bothered by it," Yvonne said, giving him a small smile. A smile of pure, undivided, inhumane evil. "You'll already be dead by then."

* * *

"How long have you been associated with this alien?"

Rose sighed, placing a hand on her swollen belly. Baby Jack wasn't moving as much as normal today. He was probably as tired as she was at the constant questioning.

"Long enough to know not to answer your questions," she replied simply. Her interrogator was getting increasingly agitated she could see, but the hand-shaped bruise on his left cheek was a painful reminder of what would happen if he dared to do something Rose didn't like.

"Mrs. Sigma-Tyler, may I remind you that we have your alien partner in detainment?"

"And what difference does that make? He'll escape your rubbish cell. He'll escape and he'll rescue our daughter, pick me up then we'll all be off in the TARDIS. Then – just to finish you off – he'll rip down the entire Torchwood network, wipe any evidence that you ever existed and completely cut you off from any association with UNIT," she finished, giving a happy smile at him. "So if I were you, I'd go about this _very _carefully and maybe you'll still have a job at the end of it all."

She _loved_ having the Doctor's demeanour.

* * *

"Doctor… wake up…!" Jack hissed, reaching up to the bind around his chest to undo it. "Wake up!"

The Doctor moaned softly, coughing through the drugs. He opened dark, bloodshot eyes, staring up at Jack yet not quite focusing.

"Jack?" he muttered, trying to move but finding himself completely restrained over every inch of his body.

"I'll have you out in a sec, just relax," he said as he unfastened the one keeping the Time Lord's head from moving. "We're all in trouble, Doc, we gotta get out. I'm being executed tomorrow, they're gonna end up murderin' you too and God only knows what's gonna happen to Zoë…"

The Doctor launched into another coughing fit as Jack finished undoing the upper half of binds, and set to work on his legs. "Where are we?" he murmured, before promptly turning over and throwing up on the other side of the table.

"We're still in Torchwood Four," Jack supplied as he flipped the last catch, reaching down to the Doctor and pulling him up onto his feet, still holding all of his weight as the Doctor's legs were even weaker than before. Jack dragged him over to the pile of clothes he'd brought, lowering the Time Lord to sit in a handy chair. He couldn't even sit up straight, sliding and falling off into a heap on the floor the moment Jack let go.

"Doctor, pull yourself together!" Jack hissed impatiently, "we haven't got a lot of time! I set off the underground alarms by walkin' through the electric bars, the guards I decked are probably comin' to right now!"

Jack dressed the Doctor back into his normal attire as quickly as he could before lifting him back into his feet, coaxing him into walking. They'd barely reached the door before the Doctor retched, having to throw up once more over the floor. Jack didn't complain – he'd expected this. He simply drew a hanky out of his pocket and wiped the Doctor's mouth carefully, quickly scrunching it up to a clean place before wiping the building sweat from the Doctor's face.

"Zoë," the Doctor gasped, "I can feel her… She's calling…" He raised his hand not slung over Jack's shoulder and pointed to the right, trying to pull away but Jack held him fast.

"This way?" Jack walked him down the right-hand corridor, as hastily yet as carefully as he could. The Doctor pointed the way and slowly but surely they arrived in a section marked '**Experimental Zone**'. There were five doors spread out evenly either side of the corridor but by then the Doctor could no longer hear his daughter calling him. It was guesswork from here on in.

He pulled fully away from Jack, staggering across to a lucky-looking door labelled "**Laboratory 5**". Handscan. How was he going to get past? He stared at the door for a moment, contemplating what was the worst that could happen. Shrugging, he placed his palm on the scan expecting some deafening wailing siren but nothing came. The door easily slid open, and he moved through. He looked up, but nothing he'd ever dreamt of had prepared him for this moment.

"What the…" he heard Jack's voice mutter in disbelief from behind him.

The Doctor's face stayed impassive for a few moments, just staring around the room they were in. He took a few steps into the room, dropping down to get a closer look at the various beakers and tubes that littered the surfaces around the room.

"Are they what I think they are?" Jack asked breathlessly, unable to believe what he was seeing. The Doctor remained eerily silent for a moment, slipping on his glasses to examine what was in the tubes.

"Yes," he finally said, not even turning his head towards Jack.

"Test-tube babies," Jack finalised, strolling over to a table of tubes and studying one closely. "What the hell is Torchwood doin'?"

"Experiments," the Doctor said through gritted teeth, "this is uncomfortably close to Khthonia, and I will not let innocent beings suffer and have to endure the life that she did." He turned back to Jack, his expression one of contempt for what he could see around him. He marched over to an adjoining door, giving a buzz with the Sonic. The door wouldn't budge. He pushed it firmly, determined. Jack moved beside him and helped to push it, the metal scraping against the cold metal floor. The Doctor looked up into the room but then suddenly froze on the spot – Jack was about to moan at him for the collision when he looked up into the centre of the room, and froze too.

"Zoë," he breathed.

Within a fraction of a millisecond the Doctor had managed to unglue his feet from the floor, bolting it over to the table in the centre of the room. It was her. It was his daughter. He rested his fingers on her neck, hoping and praying for that familiar repetitive throbbing against his fingers.

"She's alive, she's alive…" the Doctor repeated over and over again with relief flooding his voice, wrapping his coat around her and holding her close. "Zoë, wake up, daddy's here…" She remained unresponsive. "They've used her… For those embryos, they've used her. They've replicated her genes into creating new life… It must've hurt her so much…" Realisations came flooding to him in a gigantic wave as he held the pale, limp girl in both arms. "She's lost all of her TARDIS charge as well… If she doesn't get within range of the TARDIS she'll fade away, and the TARDIS is in Torchwood One in London along with Rory and Lottie inside." He gritted his teeth, suddenly furious. "Torchwood," he spat.

"I swear Doc, I didn't know…" Jack was saying, detaching the girl from the tubes she was connected to. "I didn't know…"

The Doctor didn't answer him, brushing back Zoë's hair from out of her eyes. He finally got to his feet, kissing his daughter on the forehead as he cradled her protectively.

"Captain," he finally said, looking straight into Jack's gaze with eyes brimmed full of fury. "Torchwood will regret this."

Suddenly there was the burst of sirens – the alarm had been sounded. The Doctor and Jack exchanged looks for a moment before the Doctor bolted out of the door with sudden, boundless energy, Jack hot on his heels.

They both tore down the corridor, hearing the distant pad of footsteps from somewhere in front of them. The Doctor veered a sharp left, taking Jack by surprise but the Doctor gave the impression he knew exactly where he was going.

"Escape pods," the Doctor muttered, "we need an escape pod…"

Jack had almost forgotten they were in a spaceship. He grabbed the Doctor's arm not holding Zoë and pulled him down a left-hand corridor. "This way."

"Halt!" a voice yelled suddenly from behind them, but the Doctor carried on running so Jack didn't stop either. He was no longer faking a position at Torchwood – he was done with them. Sure, he'd miss his team, but they could handle themselves fine.

A couple of gunshots sounded from behind them but they kept on running, never looking back. When the Doctor skidded to a halt Jack almost crashed straight into him, before realising they'd hit a dead end.

"Jack?!" the Doctor yelled as the footsteps of multiple soldiers advanced, closer and closer. Jack looked around, scratching his head.

"Maybe it was a right?"

* * *

**A/N:  
**

_Chapter 15 – Upside-Down, Bouncing Off The Ceiling_

_Torchwood One was in pandemonium. Rose was sat once more in the interrogation room with her personal guard watching her every move, catching snippets of what was going on from loud conversations outside. Apparently some subjects had escaped from another Torchwood base – Rose smiled to herself – no prizes for guessing who they were. Ten minutes later when her interrogator returned he was looking a little more than flustered._

"_Y'know," Rose began, smiling sweetly. "I would do my I-Told-You-So Dance but I'm a pregnant woman on the verge of throwin' up."_


	15. Upside Down, Bouncing Off The Ceiling

**A/N: **That thing I needed to tell you I still can't remember. Canonicity? What about the canonicity? My memory sucks. Ooo, but you know what, **Blonde Dr.Who-Guru With Brains **was 100th reviewer! YAY! Everyone bow down!

* * *

Chapter 15 – Upside-Down, Bouncing Off The Ceiling

Jack and the Doctor both whirled around as the stampede of footsteps arrived in the corridor, coming face-to-face with over a dozen armed guards.

"Get back!" the Doctor shouted, placing Zoë carefully on the ground out of the way as he assumed a Kung Fu stance. "I don't wanna have to use my black belt Kung Fu Feng Shui on you!"

"He's bluffing," the foremost guard said.

"Oh yeah? Cheeee-yah!" The Doctor launched up off of the ground and performed a perfectly executed back flip before landing firmly back on two feet, reassuming his Kung Fu stance once more. Jack blinked, startled, before turning back to the guards with an I-knew-that facial expression, raising his fists. "If you hang around Xena, Warrior Princess, you're bound to pick a few things up."

They took a step forward.

"Once more step and me and my buddy Jack here'll take you all down in an amazing hi-speed action sequence," the Doctor warned. Sudden pain shot through his skull and he staggered slightly on his feet, winced, blinking and shaking his head. He looked back up, fobbing it off before he spoke next, his voice suddenly lowering to something darker altogether, "because you've hurt my daughter, and Torchwood will pay for it."

The foremost guy looked at one of his backup guards, gesturing to Jack.

"Shoot the excess. Yvonne doesn't need him."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Wow, that makes me feel wanted," he said before the bullet bit into his chest and he collapsed to the floor, dead. The Doctor looked from Jack to the guards, tightening his stance.

"Stay back, I'm warning you!" he said firmly. The guard stepped forward, expression impassive.

"Come quietly with the other subject."

"You'll have to kill me first," the Doctor replied, unconsciously stepping sideward towards his prone daughter lying on the ground. Out of the blue another stinging headache hit him, its severity making him collapse to his knees, crying out and holding his head.

"Call a medic!" a guard yelled. It took ten agonising seconds for it to pass but then the Doctor was on his feet again, blinking to dispel the oncoming blackness. No, not now… anytime but now…

"Come with me…" the guard was saying but everything was pulsating in and out, woozing…

They were approaching him, they were coming towards him… What was he going to do?! His head… it was hurting… it hurt so much… he was losing all strength… all grip on reality… his head… _his head…_

Then the world fizzed into a white noise, a single song filling his head. It was a song his mother used to sing to him a hymn of Rassilon – one of the greatest Time Lords to ever have lived. The hymn was one of comfort in the times of need; reassurance that everything would be okay and the Doctor took comfort in that.

The pain had faded away now, and slowly and blissfully the world faded to nothing.

* * *

Torchwood One was in pandemonium. Rose was sat once more in the interrogation room with her personal guard watching her every move, catching snippets of what was going on from loud conversations outside. Apparently some subjects had escaped from another Torchwood base – Rose smiled to herself – no prizes for guessing who _they _were. Ten minutes later when her interrogator returned he was looking a little more than flustered.

"Y'know," Rose began, smiling sweetly. "I would do my I-Told-You-So Dance but I'm a pregnant woman on the verge of throwin' up."

The interrogator averted his gaze to Rose's guard. "Take her to her cell, I'm done for today."

"Oh, and a little word on the cell?" Rose added on as she got onto her feet, "I don't think the Doctor'll be very pleased to hear you've been keepin' his pregnant wife in a cold cell with no bed."

"Errr yes, of course," the interrogator said quickly, clearly thinking about the consequences that meant with the Doctor. "Take her to an A-block cell."

The guard nodded, walking Rose out of the cell door.

* * *

The Doctor jerked back to reality with a start.

He… what? He looked around at his surroundings: an escape pod. When did he get here? Last thing he remembered… the guards had stopped dead in their tracks, their facial expressions becoming ones of amazement, surprise and shock. But before he had a chance to see what they were looking at, he'd blacked out. Was it Jack? Maybe they'd seen Jack coming back to life, after which Jack had taken them all out before dragging the Doctor's unconscious body to an escape pod…? Yes, that made sense. That made perfect sense…

Except Jack wasn't alive yet.

Jack had been put into the second seat of the escape pod, but he was still definitely dead. Whatever had happened with the guards, it had happened fast. Maybe another person had saved them? If so, why didn't they stay?

Oh well, it didn't matter right now. Zoë was unconscious on his lap, Jack was strapped into the other seat and they were currently in an escape pod hurtling towards the Earth at 300 kilometres per second (and increasing) with no chance of control.

He checked the destination settings – someone had already set it to London. He tried hacking into the mainframe to gain control but the system was too badly destroyed – it was a very temperamental escape pod.

Rising to 400 kilometres, impact in fifteen….

He tried flicking switches, pressing buttons and pushing levers, but nothing was responding. They were going to crash and there was nothing he could do. They were utterly helpless. He held tightly onto his little girl, protecting her at all costs.

510 kilometres, impact in ten…

They weren't going to hit London. The databanks were corrupted to such a degree that the program had read the initial input wrong…

608 kilometres, five seconds…

Feeling the need to do _something _the Doctor hit one last button. As a direct result, all systems went into total failure as suddenly the engines died completely – and they were freefalling to the ground at a clear 756 kilometres per second. Chance of survival… 0 percent. But if he could collaborate the brake feed to the external turbo engine… He whacked the button, and looked up as he was almost thrown through the windscreen when the pod slammed on the brakes.

It had dropped to a ten kilometres a minute by the time the pod hit the ground.

* * *

"Ow," was Jack's first word as he came to, feeling as though he'd been turned inside-out then back again several times over. He opened his eyes carefully, partially dreading what he would see but instead coming face to face with the Doctor staring back at him, Zoë in his grip, a giant inflatable airbag threatening to suffocate them all. They had made it to an escape pod.

"And finally you decide to breathe," the Doctor said sarcastically, "now that you're here, mind getting this half crushed escape pod off of me?"

Jack blinked a few times, examining the situation before him. The entire pod was upside down with the Doctor's side crushed in on him, but little could be seen with the giant airbag in his face. He quickly hunted for the 'deflate' switch, thankfully finding it pretty rapidly.

"Where are we?"

"I have absolutely no idea, but it's somewhere near London," the Doctor replied as Jack pushed open the door with a grunt, stepping from the dark interior to the bright, warm morning sunlight. They were in the middle of a field, the early morning sky almost blinding him after the contrast of the dark pod. From afar a couple of cows watched them with mild interest. He sniffed, pulling a face.

"Well wherever it is, it doesn't smell good."

"Take Zoë," the Doctor's voice came again and Jack willingly took the comatose girl, taking off his coat and wrapping her in it before setting her down on the slightly damp grass. He turned back to the Doctor, taking the opportunity to find his upside-down position amusing before grabbing him around the chest and, with a bit of effort, pulling him out onto the grass.

The Doctor got to his feet, his right leg almost buckling beneath him through lack of control.

"Ah, dead leg, dead leg…" he said, giving it a hard shake and a few whacks to get the blood flowing again. He quickly ran around to the front of the pod, finding a ridge with his fingernails before wrenching the front panel off. "We can salvage a bit of technology, thank you Torchwood. Got a mobile?" This last was directed at Jack who shook his head, picking up Zoë again. "No problem! I can make one and we can phone Jackie, see what's happening." He began wrenching huge parts of an engine out of the compartment and threw it anywhere and everywhere.

Jack turned his attentions to Zoë, making her as comfortable as possible in his grip. It was only a few seconds later did he look up to the Doctor and realise the Time Lord had stopped, and was watching them both.

"She'll be fine Doc," Jack tried to reassure him. The Doctor didn't respond verbally, merely nodded sharply and returned to work.

* * *

**A/N: **You're starting to catch up. Better get my ass into gear :P

_Chapter 16 – Unnamed_

"_You'll be fine, Zoë," the Doctor was saying to her, still wrapped up in the coats of her uncle and father. "Daddy's gonna keep you safe from bad people." He drew his stethoscope out of his coat pocket, pressing it to the girl's chest where her one heart beat slowly and weakly. "You've just gotta hold on 'til we find the TARDIS, okay?" She remained comatose. The Doctor blinked back the tears, brushing back her hair from her eyes._

"_How is she?"_

_The Doctor didn't look up at the sound of Jack's voice. "She won't make it back to London," he said bluntly, "she's too weak."_


	16. Survival Of The Fittest: One Mars Bar

**A/N: **This is for **doctor's gal 1792**, hope I got it in time!

* * *

Chapter 16 – Survival Of The Fittest: One Mars Bar

"What d'you _mean _you ain't got a clue where you are?!" were one of Jackie Tyler's first questions to the Time Lord on the other end of her mobile phone. The calls to her landline were being monitored, but they'd never counted on her having a spare mobile phone and duplicate SIM card… in case of emergency.

_"Well, we're near London…"_

"Near London?!" Jackie echoed, incredulous. "What the 'ell kinda answer is that, you stupid alien?! Bloody _France_ is 'near London'!"

_ "We're in England, okay?" _the Doctor's voice came back, _"fairly sure about that. It's me, Jack, and we've got Zoë…"_

As the Doctor expected, Jackie melted into a puddle at his words.

_"Zoë? Is she okay?! Put her on, PUT HER ON!"_

The Doctor looked sadly to the small blonde-haired girl still wrapped up in Jack's coat next to the stick campfire, comatose. "I… can't, Jackie. She's sleeping. We've been walking all day…" Well, none of what he'd said was an actual _lie_, but it easily implied something different to Jackie.

_"Okay. When she wakes up PHONE me Doctor! I need to 'ear she's alright."_

The Doctor bit his lip, trying not to breakdown. _So do I, Jackie, so do I. _He thought, but didn't say it out loud. "Okay. Bye then, I'll be in touch. Thanks, Jackie."

_"For what?" _she asked, but the Doctor had already ended the call. Jack watched him carefully for a moment.

"How you doin'?" he asked seriously, and the Doctor nodded, putting on a smile.

"I'm okay," he replied, moving over to check on Zoë. Jack sighed.

"Of course you're not okay," he answered his own question. "Get some sleep."

"Jack, I'm a Time Lord, I don't need-" the Doctor began but was cut swiftly off by the ex-Time Agent.

"Don't give me that crap. We're all exhausted. A lot more walkin' tomorrow."

The Doctor nodded absently, checking Zoë's pulse. It had slowed. Not a lot, just a tad, but it was enough to make him worry. Her heartbeat was quieter too.

"C'mon Zoë… Just a bit further to London," he said, brushing back her hair carefully. She was shivering. Quickly he took off his trench coat, wrapping it around her with Jack's coat. If they had one more covering they could play pass the parcel.

Finally he laid down beside her, dropping into a half-sleep so should anyone come within ten metres of them he'd wake up.

* * *

A day of walking and Jack and the Doctor had only managed to determine that they were somewhere in the southwest of England, at least 150 miles from London. As they settled down for a second rough night Zoë had paled to be equated to a glass of milk with hair. Her heart rate was down, her pulse weakening. She was so sick, and the Doctor was helpless. She needed the TARDIS, without it she would pine away and die…

"You'll be fine, Zoë," the Doctor was saying to her, still wrapped up in the coats of her uncle and father. "Daddy's gonna keep you safe from bad people." He drew his stethoscope out of his coat pocket, pressing it to the girl's chest where her one heart beat slowly and weakly. "You've just gotta hold on 'til we find the TARDIS, okay?" She remained comatose. The Doctor blinked back the tears, brushing back her hair from her eyes.

"How is she?"

The Doctor didn't look up at the sound of Jack's voice. "She won't make it back to London," he said bluntly, "she's too weak."

Jack moved forward, taking a seat opposite the Doctor on the other side of the surfaced Zoë was laid on. "Hey, I managed to pick this up," he said, fumbling around in the pocket of his coat that covered the girl, drawing out a patched, brown teddy bear that was Drunky. The Doctor raised a small smile, taking Drunky in both hands and just holding him for a moment. Jack watched him carefully. "Surely there's somethin' you can do?"

He paused, looking thoughtfully at the bear. It took a few seconds before a huge grin finally spread onto his face and just about stopped himself from _kissing _Jack.

"Of course! How could I have been so _thick?!" _He set Drunky down on the floor, got onto his feet and leant over Zoë, taking in a deep breath of air to prepare himself for the exchange.

"What you gonna do?"

"This." The Doctor closed his eyes, breathing life onto his daughter. Colour began to return to her cheeks, her heartbeat speeding up; life returning to her previously weak body. Jack watched, not surprised as her deep brown eyes flickered open and rested on her father.

"Daddy?"

"Hold still, Zoë," Jack said quickly as the Doctor carried on his routine. After five seconds the Doctor opened his eyes and drew back, focusing Zoë in his vision. A broad grin spread over his face, and he grabbed the girl into a hug, giving her Drunky to cling to.

"What did you do?" Jack asked. The Doctor beamed at him.

"Twenty years of my life…" He snapped his fingers. "Gone. Worth every second of the three days it gave her."

"Daddy…" Zoë had tears falling down her cheeks.

"It's okay, I'm here, I've got you," he comforted her, brushing the tears away from her eyes. "It's safe."

"Don't like the dark…" she whispered shakily through her tears, "too cold, too empty…"

"I won't ever let you go back there," the Doctor whispered back, "not for anyone or anything. I promise."

* * *

After much rooting around Jack had managed to find spare change of 35p in his trouser pockets, the Doctor even less so when he found out he'd left his psychic paper in the TARDIS and he only had one Peronian currency amongst his ton of mouldy jelly beans and other assorted rubbish. They stopped at a service station on the A303, able to afford one Mars chocolate bar for now.

Jack rejected it – he didn't actually need to eat, being immortal. The Doctor also didn't need to eat regularly (or so he claimed) and gave the bar to Zoë. She was watching him with those eyes that said, 'I can see what you're doing and I don't like it one bit'.

"You're hungry daddy," she said, holding out the opened packet to her father for him to take.

"It's okay Zoë, I can go longer without food than you." She didn't look convinced. "Please, Zoë, eat."

"You lie bad, daddy," she said, but all the same began to eat the bar. By the time she'd finished she had chocolate and caramel smeared around her mouth, so the Doctor took her to get cleaned up. When he eventually got back to Jack, the ex-Time Agent was locked in conversation with a large man having a cup of tea at one of the café tables.

"Hey Doc," Jack gave a wave, and the large man turned around. He was slightly rough-looking, a grade one haircut and greasy hands. The typical lorry driver. He grinned a friendly, toothless grin. The Doctor felt Zoë cower into him, hands tightening on his jacket and Drunky – she was still wrapped up in the Doctor's coat, having cried when he'd tried to take it back. The Doctor took a seat, kissing her on the forehead as Jack and the lorry driver returned to their conversation.

"So where you goin'?" Jack was asking.

"Brighton, mate," the driver replied, giving Zoë a big, reassuring grin. She buried her head further into her father, watching this new man cautiously. "Where you headed?"

"London."

He seemed confused, and with good reason. "Ain't you got transport, mate?" Jack shook his head, exchanging a look with the Doctor.

"No, got carjacked in St. Ives, we've been walking ever since," the Doctor supplied.

"Bad luck," he said, "but it ain't far from Brighton to London, mate," the driver carried on, "'round fifty miles-ish. You needa lift?"

"That'd be fantastic," the Doctor said, extending a hand to the driver and receiving a firm shake. "I'm the Doctor, this is my daughter Zoë and he's Jack." He gestured to each person in turn. The driver offered a finger to shake to Zoë, who took it with her own tiny fingers.

"Aww, she reminds me of my little Anna, she's five." He grinned his toothless grin again. "I'm Stan. Lemme finish this cuppa and we'll be on our way."

* * *

Rose Sigma-Tyler knew something was wrong even before she got to the bathroom for her morning sickness. She could feel something incredibly _wrong _about it all, her own mortality screaming at her to check.

The second she got to the bathroom she first threw up three times, then checked the bit she'd been dreading.

Rose went absolutely white.

"I'm bleedin', I'm bleedin'…" she whispered, shocked, "I'm bleedin'…"

"The prisoner will-"

"Help me!" she gasped, tears beginning to fall down her face. Her baby… "Please, no …"

"What's the problem?"

She quickly made herself decent before unlocking and opening the door. Her trousers were stained with a deep red substance as she came face to face with her guard.

"I'm bleedin', my baby, please help me…" she cried.

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 17 – Unnamed_

_"Daddy wake up, wake up…"_

_ Slowly the Doctor returned to consciousness, awakened by his daughter currently pushing on his shoulder. He blinked a few times; actually shocked he'd fallen asleep when he'd slept the night before. He looked to his right, Zoë looking a little more than terrified._

_ "What is it Zoë?" he asked, alert immediately. She kept glancing over her shoulder, as if she thought someone was watching them. The Doctor followed her gaze but couldn't sense nor see anyone._

_ "Bad people daddy," she said with tears in her eyes. "You'll choke…"_


	17. Hi I’m Not In, Leave A Message!

**A/N: **I have absolutely no excuse for how late this is (quickly thinks something up) err… school? (No wait, it's the summer holidays…) The proofreader? (No! I can't shift the blame onto the most awesome proofreader in the WORLD!) Umm… computer? Yeah, that sounds good. My comp went bye-bye and nothing could ever be written or posted.

Okay, wanna know the real reason? Rock Band came the other day. I've been on it like a crazy thang. I've even neglected DWM for it! It's absolutely terrible. Info on the specials and TWO INTERVIEWS WITH DAVID TENNANT! HOW COULD I PLAY ROCK BAND INSTEAD?

(To be honest, I'm still holding out for news of a DW/Xena: Warrior Princess crossover special… :D I've already written it. Feel free to mail me Mr. Steven Moffat!)

* * *

Chapter 17 – Hi I'm Not In, Leave A Message!

"Thanks a lot." The Doctor was shaking hands with Stan, grinning broadly as the three hitchhikers climbed out of the lorry. "We really appreciate it."

"No problem, mate." The lorry driver grinned back, offering his huge hand next to Jack who shook it firmly. "Head north and you'll be in London in a few days. Good luck."

"Cheers," Jack said, and both Time Lord and ex-Time Agent waved him off down the road. Jack turned back to the Doctor, eyeing the sleepy Zoë in his arms. "We'd better find a place to kip for the night," he said, and the Doctor nodded, leading them off of the road and into an obscurely placed alleyway. He walked to the end, coming upon a metal trapdoor. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Jack, holding out Zoë for the immortal man to take before kneeling down and sonicing the flap open, taking a torch out from within his inside jacket pocket and flicking it on. He cast the beam down the resultant hole; frowning slightly before flicking it back off and putting it back in his pocket.

"Can't see a thing," he surmised, looking up at Jack for a moment before a sly smile crept on his face.

"Doctor…" Jack began, not fully convinced. The Doctor maintained his smile; his eyebrows raised as he took a covert glance around their surroundings before swiftly jumping into the hole.

Landing on both feet he looked up at the hole above him once more, seeing Jack's shocked facial expression clearly in the moonlight. The Doctor grinned up at him. He sighed, tucking Zoë inside his coat and holding her tightly before jumping down beside the Doctor, landing on both feet beside him.

"God, this is like being in Tomb Raider," Jack muttered under his breath, offering Zoë back to the Doctor who took her carefully.

"I know. Great, isn't it?" The Doctor beamed brightly, starting off in a random direction. "It's warm too – perfect. Must be a factory's boiler room. They won't mind if we take quick use of their heating, will they?"

* * *

Rory Sigma-Tyler woke up, feeling a lot better than he had when he'd gone to sleep. Bob the Delorion was currently curled up at the foot of his bed where the strange alien dog had developed a penchant for taking a nap, ever since Rory was small. Carefully he climbed out of the bed, giving Bob a stroke before Rory stretched widely, yawning. His head was clearer, he was less fatigued; he was back in the game. Now all he needed was food…

He donned a dressing own over his pyjamas, yawning again as he slipped out his TARDIS bedroom door and into the hall. Strange. It was pretty quiet for a Saturday night. Where was everyone?

He arrived at the kitchen, pushing open the door and about to take a step in before he saw it…

"Lottie?"

The little brown-haired girl looked up from her sitting position on the floor, surrounded by items of splattered food and spilt liquids all over the TARDIS floor. She had chocolate smeared all around her mouth, orange juice all down her front. She looked up at Rory, eyes full of innocence.

"Made dinner," she stated, and Rory winced, glad the TARDIS would clean up after her.

"Lottie? Where's mummy and daddy?" he asked, moving forward to pick her up in both arms, taking her to the nearest available bathroom. She shrugged.

"Dunno. They never said bye," she replied, voice quavering slightly. Rory frowned, quickly washing and changing his younger sister into fresh pyjamas before settling her back to bed for the night. He checked the TARDIS scanner for signs of life besides him and Lottie but (besides the dodgy kronkburger in the third kitchen) there was nothing. The flat? Maybe. He picked up the TARDIS phone and dialled the flat ready to argue with his father about leaving Lottie on her own but it reverted to answer phone.

"_Hi, I'm not in, leave a message!" _Beep.

He hung up, dialled again.

"_Hi, I'm not in, leave a message!" _Beep. They definitely weren't in.

He dialled once more.

"_Hi, I'm not in, leave a message!" _Beep.

"Errr, hi," Rory began slowly; slightly unsure of what he was doing. He'd never called to an answer phone before. "It's Rory. Umm, where is everyone?" He paused, unable to find much more to say on the matter. "Yeah. Phone me back, okay? Actually… Okay, I'm gonna come up to the flat a second, Lottie's sleeping."

He took the quick route back to his room, quickly donning a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before slipping on socks and shoes. He checked Lottie was fully asleep before walking back to the console room, pulling open the TARDIS door and stepping outside unknowingly into complete blackness.

"I knew it," a voice suddenly said from the darkness. "The Doctor's son. Rory, isn't it?"

"Who are you?" Rory subtly locked the TARDIS door firmly behind him, not trusting this new voice.

"My name is not important," the voice said, as suddenly a figure stepped out from the shadows – a small, thin-looking human with neatly parted black hair and pale blue eyes. He wore a neat uniform that Rory vaguely recognised to be of UNIT distinction. UNIT were the good guys. They had helped to save his dad from certain death, and his Aunt Jill was in charge of them. "What's important is the safety of your family."

The man's pale blue eyes were staring into Rory, almost like he was reading his mind. "What's happened to my family?"

"They were captured, but Torchwood and UNIT are trying to track them and their abductors down as we speak. Come, I shall tell you on the way to headquarters."

* * *

"Daddy wake up, wake up…"

Slowly the Doctor returned to consciousness, awakened by his daughter currently pushing on his shoulder. He blinked a few times; actually shocked he'd fallen asleep when he'd slept the night before. He looked to his right, Zoë looking a little more than terrified.

"What is it Zoë?" he asked, alert immediately. She kept glancing over her shoulder, as if she thought someone was watching them. The Doctor followed her gaze but couldn't sense nor see anyone.

"Bad people daddy," she said with tears in her eyes. "You'll choke…"

"Choke?" the Doctor echoed. "On what?"

"Bad people are coming, daddy, we have to run…"

He got onto his feet, scooping her up in his arms as he kicked the loudly snoring Jack sharply in the side to wake him up, the younger man issuing a loud grunt. The Time Lord sprinted over to the trapdoor, setting Zoë down on the floor before jumping up and grabbing onto the side of the opening, groaning with the effort as he pulled himself up out of the trapdoor onto the solid ground of the alleyway. He could hear nor see anyone or anything that may have resembled 'bad people'.

"Zoë, you just had a bad dream. There's no one here," he announced to the girl below, but in the square of light he could see her shaking her head.

"Waiting," Zoë said from below, her voice dreamy. "Waiting. Waiting."

Then he heard it.

It was the sound of a helicopter overhead. He straightened to his full height, looking up to find it flying low and directly above him, a giant white searchlight swinging around everywhere over the ground. Torchwood. They'd found them.

"Zoë, go wake up your Uncle," he said urgently down the opening to the cellar. "Slap him if you need to."

The pitter-patter of footsteps marked Zoë running back to Jack. The Doctor looked up again, now able to hear the hungry howls of police dogs in the distance. They had to move, and _fast._

"What is it Doc?" Jack called up in a sleepy voice and the Doctor span back around to the trapdoor.

"They found us Jack, Torchwood…"

"Dammit," Jack muttered under his breath, making to lift Zoë up to the Doctor but the Time Lord raised a hand to prevent him, suddenly still and silent. The entirety of the village they were in had now awoken, and were clustering outside their doors in dressing gowns.

"Return to your homes!" boomed a voice over a loudspeaker, one of a man. Then came the synchronised thudding of footsteps – soldiers – sounding out from the main road just ten metres infront of them. "Return to your homes!"

"Doctor!" a woman's voice came over a loudspeaker – that of Yvonne Hartman's. She sounded like a psychopath tormenting their victim… "Come out Doctor…"

"There's nowhere to run," the Doctor muttered to himself, swinging back around to drop down into the opening to the boiler room. He landed next to Jack, taking Zoë out of his grip and holding her close. "We've got to hide in here."

"They'll find us," Jack said, already shaking his head.

"There's no alternative," the Doctor replied, "they won't dare to force us out, we might die in the chaos and that's the last thing they want. If we won't go out then they won't come in."

"But that's stalemate," Jack protested, grabbing the Doctor by the arm as he made to pull away, worry etching his face. "Neither of us can move."

"It'll buy us time to negotiate, or form an escape plan." The Doctor pulled away his arm and moved to the back of the room to a corner. He slid down into sitting position as a slice of pain flashed across his skull – the same he had experienced before his blackout in Torchwood Four – he ignored it, and held onto Zoë tightly. Tears fell down her face.

"I'm scared, daddy."

"I know Zoë I'm scared too, but daddy'll protect you 'til the end of time. I promise," he said gently as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. But she was shaking her head in a negative.

"It's not that. Your head hurts, doesn't it daddy?" she asked smally. He paused, staring at her before he nodded.

"It's nothing Zoë, it's just after effects of some injections the bad people made me take so I would sleep."

"It's not, I know stuff," she replied, "but you're not supposed to remember it yet. Not 'til doomsday."

He frowned, confused. "Remember what? What's doomsday?" But Zoë was cut off from replying as suddenly there were shouts over their heads, and the loud clomping of feet on tarmac rang out.

"They've detected us," Jack breathed, dropping down next to the Doctor and Zoë. "We don't stand a chance."

"Oh don't worry," the Doctor said as Yvonne's mocking calls came once more. "I'll think of something."

* * *

**A/N: **I'm so behind that as I write this message, I haven't even FINISHED chapter 18! Oh well, back to the old days…

_Chapter 18 – Dukes Of Hazard Style_

"_This is your final warning Doctor…"_

"_And this is yours."_

"_Then so be it. James? Flush them out."_

"_Yes ma'am," came the voice of a man, and seconds later there was the sound of something small and metal hitting the concrete where they sat, then a compressed hissing noise. The Doctor realised before he saw it. Torchwood were going to gas them out._

"_Daddy," Zoë wept into him, "daddy… you'll choke…"_


	18. Dukes Of Hazard Style

**A/N: **HA! Got it on time. I rule, I rule! (Does the "I rule" dance)

* * *

Chapter 18 – Dukes Of Hazard Style

"Come out Doctor, we've got you surrounded…"

"Come out to what?" he yelled back, "hurting my daughter? She's barely five-years-old; she shouldn't have to feel pain like that!"

"It didn't hurt daddy," Zoë muttered quietly, "I thought of you and the pain went away." He held her tighter in the moment.

"If you don't come out we'll make you come out."

"Give it your all," the Doctor called back, "'cause you're not gonna _touch_ my little girl."

"You'll choke…" Zoë said again, "daddy please keep breathing…"

"I am Zoë, I'm breathing, I won't stop," the Doctor said, exchanging a look with Jack. "I wouldn't be much fun if I didn't breathe."

"This is your final warning Doctor…"

"And this is yours."

"Then so be it. James? Flush them out."

"Yes ma'am," came the voice of a man, and seconds later there was the sound of something small and metal hitting the concrete where they sat, then a compressed hissing noise. The Doctor realised before he saw it. Torchwood were going to gas them out.

"Daddy," Zoë wept into him, "daddy… you'll choke…"

"Zoë, hold your breath," he said, "I will stop breathing but it's my respiratory bypass system; it's okay, I'm not gonna die, all right Zoë?"

She nodded against him, taking in a deep breath.

The gas began to spread, the white smoke shining bright in the moonlight through the trapdoor hole. It advanced towards them. The Doctor got a whiff of it up his nose, instantly choking and coughing as its drowsy effects tried to overwhelm him. Quickly he flicked over to his respiratory bypass, knowing he had to act fast. He got onto his feet, running forward and scooping up the gas bomb, throwing it with perfect aim back out the hole. He heard several shrieks of surprise, grinning widely as he turned and gave Zoë to Jack, jumping up and hauling himself out of the hole.

The soldiers around them had already collapsed, gasping, coughing and choking from the gas. The Doctor quickly received Zoë from Jack, setting her on both feet before giving Jack a hand up, and then they ran.

"After them!" Yvonne choked as the Doctor bounded over the fence, landing sloppily into some wet mud on the other side. Jack followed with a healthy squelch, pulling a face of disgust as the Doctor lifted Zoë on the ground over the mud.

"Run!" the Doctor yelled, grabbing Zoë's hand and going full pelt across the muddy field. They were getting covered head to toe in mud but they were beyond caring – they had to get away.

"Daddy!" Zoë wailed, and he turned to she her panting and struggling to go on. He quickly hoisted her up on his back, telling her to cling on tightly around his neck so he could still run full pelt. The soldiers were after them. He could even hear dogs howling. His blood pounded in his ears as his determination alone fuelled him to go on, his respiratory bypass still doing wonders. He knew he couldn't go on for much longer after his bypass switched off – using it at his great age always left him weak and vulnerable.

"Forest!" Jack suddenly yelled from somewhere beside him, and the Doctor looked to follow his pointing hand towards a dense looking forest. It was their only chance of escape. He clambered over the fence with Zoë still on his back, and ran.

Branches scratched at his face and hands as he tried to push them out of the way, easily skipping over logs and puddles. Eventually they emerged out the other side of the forest onto a country road, more green forest infront of them with a bright red truck parked but running just a few metres ahead. The driver was currently the other side of it, having a quick smoke.

The Doctor turned to Jack, putting his fingers on his lips as he tiptoed across the clearing with Zoë still clinging on around his neck. Slowly and quietly he climbed into the back of the truck, setting Zoë down off of his back and in amongst sacks of vegetables. Jack shortly followed, silently crawling under some spare empty sacks.

"I need to sleep off my bypass," the Doctor murmured, drawing a sack over to hide him and Zoë as he laid down on the floor, closing his eyes. Quickly Jack made sure they were totally covered, already able to hear the distant howls of dogs.

Their driver quickly got into the truck, startled by the howling. With a sharp jolt they were off in an explosion of black smoke and the horrendous waft of petrol, Jack checking the Doctor quickly to make sure he was actually breathing again. He was. Jack gave Zoë a quick family kiss before silently making sure she was comfortable next to her sleeping father.

He leant back against the side of the truck, breathing a silent sigh of mixed relief and apprehension. God only really knew where this driver was headed; knowing their luck the drive would take them right back to square one located at least 150 miles away.

But still, the distance between his friends and Torchwood had increased, and Jack decided there and then he was going to keep it that way for as long as he could.

* * *

The Doctor woke up to find himself curled up in amongst painful branches and brambles sticking into almost every conceivable part of his body, lying apparently in a hedge. Wait, this wasn't where he went to sleep… Where was Jack? Where was Zoë? He sat up, pushing away the branches and brambles from his already cut face as he rubbed his head to try and clear his confusing parade of thoughts. Why would Jack leave him in a hedge? Seemed a strange place to take a break…

Then he heard it.

"Oh great," he murmured, the display of wailing sirens, bright lights and barking dogs marking the arrival of Torchwood. Maybe he should just stay in the hedge…

"Doc?" came a quiet hiss from close by, and the Doctor scanned through the darkness to find Jack on the other side of the road, crouching down and holding Zoë. The Doctor clambered out from the hedge, taking a quick glance for traffic before getting onto his feet and sprinting towards them both.

"What's the big idea about leaving me in a hedge?" the Doctor said quietly to Jack as he knelt down beside him, glancing around for possible Torchwood personnel but there were none.

"I couldn't lug you around, could I?" Jack protested. "Safest place – in a hedge. Anyway, we gotta run. I managed to lose them a bit but they're right on our tail…" The Doctor pressed a kiss to her forehead as she hugged Jack's neck. They were all covered in mud, most of it dried mud. The Doctor's eyes widened as he realised…

_Suddenly there was the sound of someone entering from behind him. He whirled around, ready to face the murderer with his fists raised – but found instead Jack standing there with Zoë in his arms, both caked in mud and staring at him…_

The dream. It was coming true. It was all coming true…

But Rose wasn't going to die. She wasn't going to get shot. Even if he died several times over to prevent it, it simply _wasn't _going to happen. He turned his attentions back to Jack.

"Where are we?" he asked, "where did we end up?"

"I don't know Doc, but it's in Greater London," Jack said, holding up his thumb and forefinger close together to signify a distance, "we're probably _this _far from Jackie and we don't even know it. Why don't you call her?" he said, indicating the phone in the Doctor's coat pocket currently on Zoë, who was still clutching onto Drunky like her heart wouldn't beat without him.

"What good will that do?" the Doctor answered rudely, "it's not like she's got a tracking system. No, we're on our own." He delved inside his inside jacket pocket, bringing out the Sonic. He flicked it on and waved it about in the air for a moment, before slipping it back inside his pocket. He pointed to his right. "That's North. Good to start at North. I like North."

"There they are!" a voice suddenly yelled, and the Doctor and Jack were on their feet in an instant, sprinting to their right. They weaved in and out of moving traffic, the Doctor almost falling over at the curb after he slid across the bonnet of a parked car Dukes Of Hazard style. They bolted through alleyways with soldiers right on their tail, ready to catch them if they made one mistake. Jack was leading the way, holding onto Zoë tightly as he and the Doctor pulled away from the soldiers advance, bolting across the open road…

"AGH!" the Doctor suddenly cried out loud, and Jack heard the sound of a body hitting the floor with a thud. He whirled back around, Zoë still in his grip to come face to face with the Doctor being dragged back along the ground by something attached to his leg. "Run Jack!" the Doctor yelled, holding out his hand to his best friend in front of him, slowly disappearing in the distance.

"No way Doctor!" Jack shouted back, setting Zoë back down onto the ground and ordering her to run and hide. She did so, and Jack ran back over to the Doctor still being dragged away to whatever the source was back across the road. Jack grabbed the Doctor and held on tight, preventing the force from dragging the Time Lord back any further.

"I got you, hold on!" he said, examining what it was that was making the Doctor be pulled backwards. They'd fired a harpoon straight into his upper leg, attached to a rope that was pulling him back.

"JA-AGH!" the Doctor cried out in utter agony as they continued to pull on the rope despite the fact Jack was holding him stationary. He felt like his leg was going to rip in two at any second.

"Just hold on!" Jack could feel the Torchwood and UNIT guards approaching fast. He reached inside the Doctor's jacket pocket and scrambled frantically for the Sonic Screwdriver, pressing it against the rope. It snapped, and Jack gathered the moaning Doctor up in both arms and pelted it in the direction they were previously headed, away from Torchwood and UNIT.

They found Zoë hiding behind a dumpster, curled up into a ball whilst holding Drunky and shaking in fear. Knowing there was nowhere else they could possibly go, Jack set the pained Doctor down on the ground against the dumpster and sat down beside him. Zoë crawled onto them both, but words were not exchanged as she clutched onto her uncle, burying her head into her father's chest.

"Take Zoë and run…" the Doctor moaned softly, his head lolled against the dumpster he was leant on. "Please…"

"There's no time," Jack replied shortly, reaching over to the Doctor's leg, pushing against the bleeding zone where the harpoon was embedded. The Doctor took a sharp intake of air, but held in the pain for his daughter clutching onto him. All they could do was wait to be captured.

"They came down here!" a voice yelled, and instantly there came the clumping of multiple footsteps towards them. Jack felt Zoë hold tighter – she must've been terrified. He tightened his grip on her, determined that he would keep her safe no matter what for the Doctor.

* * *

**A/N:** Y'know, I've just realised, I'm good at this cliffhanger lark aren't I? It's as easy as pie!

_Chapter 19 – What A Pickle!_

_The footsteps got closer and closer, bigger and louder until they finally stopped right next to them. He waited for the shout they they'd found them. He waited for the clacking of Yvonne Hartman's high heels as she slowly made her way over to them. He waited for the inevitable gunshot…_


	19. What A Pickle!

**A/N: **Don't you think it SUCKS that whilst everyone else around here has gone off on holiday _we_ (By 'we' I of course mean mostly 'I' because I'm the one moaning) are stuck here at home getting insomnia, playing MMORPGs, listening to all three series of Double Income No Kids Yet for the seventh time and watching Pokemon Diamond and Pearl?

STILL! I am true to my word. Saturday and Wednesday updates, I've decided on...

* * *

Chapter 19 – What A Pickle!

The Doctor looked as though he'd passed out, Zoë was shaking badly with fear and Jack could only squeeze his eyes shut tightly in a 'if I can't see them, they can't see me' notion but already knew it was hopeless.

The footsteps got closer and closer, bigger and louder until they finally stopped right next to them. He waited for the shout they they'd found them. He waited for the clacking of Yvonne Hartman's high heels as she slowly made her way over to them. He waited for the inevitable gunshot…

This was it… This was it… This was it…

This was it?

Nothing was happening.

He opened his eyes, looking up at the soldiers stood next to them. Some UNIT, some Torchwood, but they all had one thing in common.

They couldn't see him, Zoë or the Doctor.

Their eyes flickered crazily around the area, some looking just above the three, some below and some to the sides. Everywhere but where they were actually sat. What was going on?!

"Area's clear sir!" one of the soldiers yelled, and they all turned around and headed back to where they'd come from.

What?!

He looked over at the Doctor, wondering if he'd done something but he still looked unconscious. He down looked down at Zoë next who was no longer shaking, her head still buried in her father's chest.

"Zoë?" he whispered, "you okay?"

She looked up at her Uncle, and instantly Jack was taken by surprise. Her usually deep brown eyes, which reflected her father's own, were now a bright, shining gold which almost blinded him. He stared, unable to comprehend.

"Shush, s'ok Uncle Jack," she said quietly, her voice seemingly echoing in his ears. "Put a perception filter on. They can't see us."

She pushed herself onto two feet, holding tightly onto Drunky who Jack could see was torn again, this time up his right leg. He also got up and scooped the Doctor up in both arms, mesmerised by Zoë's eyes before she blinked, and they return back to that deep brown.

"Follow." She beckoned him with her free hand, walking out of the alleyway and onto another street. She looked around quickly before running across the road into someone's drive. There was a light green car with a white roof that looked like it was from the 1960's parked in the driveway, the house itself red bricked and three-storeys high. Jack didn't recognise it at all…

* * *

Sarah-Jane Smith was just about to go to bed when the front doorbell rang. Who would ring this time of night? Was it Maria?

She pulled open the front door, finding her gaze moving down from Maria's height to a much smaller girl, about five-years-old with long curly blonde hair and deep brown eyes that looked awfully familiar. She was sucking her left thumb and in her right arm she was hugging a patchy brown teddy bear, but the most noticeable thing was that she was covered head-to-toe in mud.

Her words came as something of a surprise.

"Auntie Sarah," the girl said, clutching onto a teddy bear as though it were her lifeline. "Daddy Doctor, hurt badly."

"The Doctor?" Sarah repeated, eyes wide. "He's hurt? Where is he?"

"Uncle Jack back soon," she said simply, running in through the front door and hiding behind the doorframe and clutching her teddy, as if she was scared someone would see her.

Sure enough, Jack soon appeared in the distance, carrying a body that Sarah could guess was the Doctor's. She beckoned him over and he nodded, glancing around quickly before jogging over to her. He slipped inside the door as Sarah shut it behind him, eyeing the softly moaning Doctor in Jack's arms, the both of them covered in mud as Zoë was.

"Come on," Sarah said, leading the way into her kitchen. She cleared the table, gesturing for Jack to put the Doctor on it and place some cushions beneath his head for comfort and right knee to prop up the injury. Sarah winced as she saw it. "I'll go get the first aid kit…" she said, disappearing into the hallway.

"Uncle Jack," Zoë suddenly said from next to him, "daddy gonna be okay." It wasn't a question. She seemed to be positive of her words.

"I know so," he said, brushing her angelic blonde curls out of her eyes. "Tough as old boots, your daddy." It made him wonder about Jill, and how she was at the moment. How was Dawn? Were they both okay?

He tore his gaze back to Zoë, who was giving him a reassuring smile. "Auntie Jill and Dawn tough as old boots," she said simply, and Jack grinned. He leant forward, giving her a kiss on the forehead. She yawned widely, clutching Drunky to her chest. Jack smiled at her.

"How 'bout I ask Auntie Sarah if she's got a place you can kip?" he asked and Zoë nodded.

"Oh there's plenty of room for you," Sarah returned, carrying a huge travel-like bag and handing it to Jack. "You can get washed up in the morning. Follow me." She took Zoë's hand and led her up the stairs and out of sight. Jack set the bag onto the floor before he turned back to the Doctor, quickly stripping him down to undershirt and boxers before moving back to the impalement.

"Aww Doc, hope you've had your tetanus jab…" Jack muttered as he began to rifle through the first aid kit, not expecting much but a plaster. How wrong he was. Sarah had thought of _everything… _even a defibrillator!

"Get it out, get it out…" the Doctor moaned, clutching at Jack's coat to try and quench the pain. "Feel faint…"

"Don't you even _think_ of passin' out on me," Jack said sternly to the Time Lord, "'cause you're the one that's gonna tell me how to fix this!"

"Scalpel…" the Doctor coughed out, "metal cutters… slit the skin… push harpoon head through… cut it off…"

"Sarah!" Jack called as he ransacked the medicine box, managing to locate some local anaesthetic and a sealed packet needle. "Sarah!"

"Jack?" came Sarah's reply from halfway up the stairs.

"Have you got any metal cutters?"

"Yes, hold on!"

Jack turned back to the Doctor, holding up the anaesthetic equipment. "Can you have this? It's non-morphine based."

He groaned loudly, gritting his teeth as he worked through the pain before answering, "yes…"

"You may feel a slight prick…" Jack joked, stabbing the filled needle next to the wound and pressing down. The Doctor tried to level his breathing, waiting for the pain to die down with the anaesthetic. Jack checked through the box again, taking out some saline and cleaning the wound thoroughly before mopping away the blood again. He took out a scalpel next, judging the point where the harpoon would have exited had it gone through the other skin of the skin. He slitted the point in the skin, trying to ignore the Doctor's gasps of discomfort that accompanied the process.

"Ready for this?" Jack grabbed the handle on the harpoon, bracing himself before pushing it through the Time Lord's leg. The Doctor was slowly becoming whiter and whiter as more blood trickled out of the wound, watching the harpoon slowly emerge out the other side of his leg with an eerie kind of silence.

"Jack." Jack felt a cold metal implement being put into his free hand. "Can I help?"

"Yeah, keep him warm and conscious, and mop up this blood." Sarah nodded at his words, quickly moving to grab some blankets from the side and placing them over the Doctor before sitting down next to his head, trying to keep him calm and awake as she wiped away the blood with a clean rag so Jack could see what he was doing. She looked over, seeing Jack currently hacking through the blood-coated harpoon with her metal cutter. She turned back to the Doctor, worried at how pale he was becoming.

"How's Rose?" she asked, trying to keep him in conversation.

"I don't know," came the reply. Sarah really could've seen that coming. She tried again.

"Who are you running from?"

"Torchwood, UNIT…"

"UNIT?" Sarah exclaimed, surprised. "Why…?"

"Something… turned them against us… they took us… escaped… running back to London…"

Sarah nodded, but remained confused. "What could possibly turn them against you?" she asked, but directed it mainly at herself.

"Doctor," Jack said suddenly, and both she and the Doctor looked at him. "It's done. What do I do?"

"Pull it out… three minutes… repair blood vessels and nerves…" Suddenly Jack was thanking World War One for teaching him field surgery, and he turned to Sarah.

"Gonna need your help," he said, "I need pencils, cotton thread and a size nine sewing needle." He knelt down to the wooden box, looking for iodine solution and thankfully finding some as Sarah tore around the kitchen, trying to find what he wanted. He marvelled at Sarah's 'first aid' box. You could do brain surgery with this box of tricks.

Shortly Sarah returned, carrying the items he'd requested. He threaded the bright yellow cotton through the eye of needle with expert ease, before telling her to hold the Doctor down and wipe away the blood as he rested a hand on the shaft of the harpoon, and very carefully began to pull. Instantly the Doctor began to cry out in utter agony, grabbing onto the side of the table with his knuckles turning white.

"Breathe in, breathe out…" Sarah was saying over and over again. She needn't have bothered, as whilst the pain escalated and he lost more and more blood the Doctor was beginning to lose grasp of the real world. He tried to push away whoever it was that was causing him this agony but he couldn't actually move. It took him a few seconds until he realised Sarah was pinning him down by the shoulders.

His body seemed to want to give up and fall asleep – he wouldn't let it. Yet the more and more he fought the darkness the more and more it seemed to creep in, until it finally became too much and he closed his eyes, slipping into sleep.

Sarah watched the Doctor as his head hit the table, eyes closed. She looked up at Jack.

"He's passed out," she said, and Jack nodded.

"Let him. It's fine," he replied as the harpoon was finally free. "Okay, we've got three minutes to repair everything before he bleeds to death."

"No pressure then," Sarah muttered as she plunged her hands into the blood bath.

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 20 – Unnamed _

_ "You sound sad mummy. What's wrong?"_

_ The voice on the other end was suddenly shaking. "Don't worry yourself honey. I've gotta go now. Love you loads, and just sit tight until we can get back to you, okay?"_

_ "Mmmkay mummy. Love you. Byesies."_

_ Lottie got onto tiptoes, managing to hook the phone back on its holder before taking a few steps back, looking at the console. All the buttons. All the levers. All the temptation…_

_ But she couldn't touch it. She wasn't allowed to touch anything._

_ But… but…_


	20. Two Kidnappers and a Stolen Child

**A/N: **Gawsh, this is epic!

* * *

Chapter 20 – Two Kidnappers and a Stolen Child

The Doctor awoke the next morning to the sound of a television being switched on. It was for this reason he suddenly wondered where he was, opening his eyes to find himself lying on the sofa with a cover over him in unfamiliar surroundings.

He was instantly drawn to his right where a clean-looking Jack sat on the other sofa, watching the television intently. He looked over at the Doctor, giving a grin.

"Mornin'. How you feelin'?"

"On top of the world, thanks," the Doctor replied with an equally as happy grin. "So I didn't bleed to death."

Jack shrugged, nonchalant. "Well I tried to bleed you out but you just wouldn't die, you stubborn git."

"I don't die very easily," the Doctor replied simply. "Kind of annoying sometimes."

_"This morning's headlines: two highly dangerous convicts are on the loose whilst holding a young girl hostage, police beg the public to come forward with any information on their whereabouts and to take all precautions if confronted by them…"_

"That'd be us then," the Doctor muttered, staring at the screen as an image of the supposed 'parents' came on screen, addressing a crowd of media.

_"Please, we beg the two men holding our little girl hostage to return her, safe and sound to two loving parents," _the man said as the woman dissolved into tears. Instantly the sight was replaced by two photographs, one of the Doctor and one of Jack.

"Told you sooo!" the Doctor said in a singsong voice as Jack got up off the sofa, walking over to the Time Lord and kneeling down beside his legs.

"Need to check on your wound," he explained as he drew back the cover and carefully pulled down the borrowed pyjama trousers to expose the reels of bandages encasing the Doctor's upper right leg, slightly stained red. The Doctor watched him carefully.

"Don't get any ideas Jack," he warned, and Jack just shot him a grin.

"You're forgettin' who changed you into pyjamas last night Doc," he pointed out, lifting the leg gently to rest on a cushion before continuing in an innocent voice, "and the thought never even crossed my mind!"

"Right," the Doctor said in a voice filled with sarcasm. "Where are we?" He winced as Jack started to unpeel the bandages.

"Sarah-Jane's house," Jack answered shortly. The Doctor's eyebrows reached the ceiling.

"How…" he began, but Jack was already shaking his head.

"Some freaky stuff happened last night Doc, I'm beginnin' to think I dreamt most of it up."

"What kinda stuff?"

"Well…" Jack began, pausing in his handiwork to look at the Doctor. "We were surrounded, they were about to find us, you were unconscious, we had no escape… and then the soldiers appeared. But they acted like they couldn't see us. I watched 'em; they looked everywhere except for the exact place we were sittin', like there was somethin' preventin' them…"

The Doctor frowned. "A perception filter?"

Jack continued, "so I checked you to see if you'd done anythin' but you were still out, then I looked to Zoë and… her eyes were gold. She said somethin' like she'd put a, as you said, perception filter on us and that they couldn't see us. Then she told me to follow her, her eyes turned back to normal and she led us straight to Sarah's house." His eyes were searching the Doctor, as if waiting for an answer. The Doctor regarded Jack carefully.

"Jack, you know as well as I do who she really is."

Jack nodded, flashing back to the dark night in the castle. Khthonia, a twisted woman with psychic powers had forced a child with the Doctor, only for the child, Erida, to became evil and drowned in resent for the human race. When the Doctor had told Erida about him – as her father – being half-human half-Time Lord so consequently she was part-human, her soul had been ripped from her, her body reverting back to the form of a baby. The soul of the immensely psychic Eva – the Doctor and Rose's first daughter who had died during childbirth – chose to give the soulless baby her own soul. The Doctor and Rose had taken the baby in, and named her Zoë. Zoë was simply a girl with the soul of a psychic being.

"So her powers are just unlockin' then?" Jack asked, looking back to the wound. "As she grows up they'll get more powerful and all that?"

The Doctor nodded. "She's a special little girl Jack. No wonder Torchwood wanted her to grow new life. The amount of power she's got inside her to too much for us to comprehend. Enough to light up Las Vegas for a million years. She's easily the most powerful being in the Universe."

"So the most powerful bein' in the entirety of the Universe is a little girl with a teddy bear," Jack summed up, before chucking. "Sounds 'bout right."

"Lucky for us," the Doctor continued, "the start she's had she's keeping all that power reserved for doing good. She could easily turn that against us all. Khthonia Mark II: Destroyer of Worlds. She's perfectly capable, and even the Time Lords at the height of power would not even be able to get within 10 000 light-years of her, never mind me." He paused, watching Jack watch him for a moment before he suddenly jerked back to life, grinning. "So, where's Sarah?"

"School run," Jack replied, returning to work. "And Zoë's upstairs sleepin'," Jack quickly answered the Doctor's next question before he even opened his mouth. The Time Lord nodded, wincing again as Jack tightened a fresh bandage on the wound. "How're we gonna carry on?" Jack continued after a brief few seconds of silence. "I mean it's not like you're gonna be able to walk all day."

"We're in Ealing, not too far from Jackie's," the Doctor replied, "if we stick to the alleyways we could be there in a day and a bit with my leg. Unless you feel like carrying me, of course," he added on the end.

Jack grinned, a little too happily.

* * *

Lottie Sigma-Tyler was alone in the TARDIS.

After making some breakfast (and a whole load of mess on the floor) Lottie headed to the console room, wandering around the centre where the mushroom-shaped dome sat. She rested her hand on it, feeling the gentle vibrations humming beneath her palm.

Then the phone rang.

She strained to reach it but after much scrambling about she managed to knock it off its holder, the phone hanging over the side of the console before she picked it up and pressed it to her ear. She felt responsible!

"Herro?" she said.

_"Lottie?" _came a woman's voice on the other end, sounding a little stuffy, _"it's mummy. Is Rory there?"_

"No mummy. He disappear-red like you did."

_"Is it just you in the TARDIS?"_

"Yes mummy," she answered, nodding.

_"Honey, don't go outside and don't touch anythin' on the console, okay?"_

"Mmmkay," Lottie muttered, eyes widening as she looking over the tempting buttons and levers affixed to the console. Her attentions turned back to her mother. "Where are you mummy? Where's daddy? I miss you."

There was a brief silence.

_"Lottie honey, we've always believed in tellin' you all the truth so that's what I'm gonna do. Evil people have captured us both and I've got no idea where your daddy is, though he might have your sister with him."_

"You sound sad mummy. What's wrong?"

The voice on the other end was suddenly shaking. _"Don't worry yourself honey. I've gotta go now. Love you loads, and just sit tight until we can get back to you, okay?"_

"Mmmkay mummy. Love you. Byesies."

Lottie got onto tiptoes, managing to hook the phone back on its holder before taking a few steps back, looking at the console. All the buttons. All the levers. All the _temptation…_

But she couldn't touch it. She wasn't allowed to touch anything.

But… but…

She stepped forward again back to the console, hesitantly reaching up to rest her finger on a button. Just one little button. It wouldn't matter, would it? Just one… red… shiny…

She pressed it.

* * *

"I packed some food for you," Sarah was saying, handing a rucksack to Jack who took it with a courteous bow. "You'll be careful, won't you Doctor?"

"Oh you know me Sarah," the Doctor grinned, adjusting himself on the pair of crutches Sarah had found for him. "Dainty little fairy, I am. Run away from trouble."

Sarah smiled before her eyes dropped to his wounded leg, and she began to shake her head. "I can't leave you to walk back to Jackie's like that, especially with your leg that way."

"They'll be watching the major roads," the Doctor replied simply. "Thanks for all your help Sarah, but this has to be where we part."

Zoë ran forwards to Sarah, hugging her tightly around the leg silently with Drunky in one arm. Sarah bent down and held her tightly.

"You take good care of your daddy and uncle, okay?" Zoë nodded at Sarah's words, smiling her pretty little smile. "Good luck." She got up once more, addressing the Doctor and Jack. "If you ever need me, you know where I am."

The Doctor nodded. "Allons-y then." He led the way out of the front door, going quite fast considering he was on crutches. They got out onto the street, Jack giving Sarah a final wave as the Doctor checked the surroundings. It was 1:00am on Monday morning so people were scarce on the streets – perfect for 'two kidnappers hiding a stolen child'.

They began the long journey from Ealing to Bucknall House, determined not to look back.

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 21 – The Storm Unleashed _

_Jack nodded, helping him to his feet before moving to wake Zoë. The Doctor grabbed his crutches, starting towards the exit painfully slowly. Zoë was far too sleepy to walk, so Jack gathered her up in both arms and carried her out of the exit himself, her head resting against his chest._

_They must've walked quarter of a mile before the Doctor had to stop for a rest on a conveniently placed bench, and only because Jack had made him. He protested that they'd never get to Jackie's if they had to keep stopping, but was secretly glad of the break. He felt awful._

_Then came the churning. Groaning. It was an awfully familiar sound… but no… it couldn't be… it was impossible…_


	21. The Storm Unleashed

**A/N: **Okay, I know it's Friday and not Saturday but tbh I don't much care :D I'm getting too far head. I'm on chapter 24, can you believe that?! :o

* * *

Chapter 21 – The Storm Unleashed

"One and a half days my _ass!" _Jack couldn't help but say as they sat around a makeshift fire in an abandoned car lot, three days after they had set off from Ealing. Zoë was sleeping in between the Doctor and Jack's coats, Jack was poking at the campfire and the Doctor was sat on a pile of cardboard boxes massaging his leg with pain evident on his face.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" he started but then suddenly trailed off, looking down to his leg. "I'm bleeding again," he said, digging a hand into his jacket pocket and bringing out a fifth handkerchief to tie around his wounded leg.

"Damn Torchwood," Jack muttered, looking over to the sleeping Zoë. "We've gotta get back to Jackie's, find Rose, find the TARDIS and sort out this mess."

The Doctor nodded. "I can feel a fever coming on. Infection."

"Aww not now…" Jack moaned, getting onto his feet and crossing over to the Time Lord, resting his hand on his forehead. "Yeah, you're startin' to burn up. We've gotta move fast before anythin' sets in."

The Doctor afforded a glance to the outside world. "We should set off now. We've got about three miles to go. Six hours tops at my pace, we'll be there by 6:00am."

Jack nodded, helping him to his feet before moving to wake Zoë. The Doctor grabbed his crutches, starting towards the exit painfully slowly. Zoë was far too sleepy to walk, so Jack gathered her up in both arms and carried her out of the exit himself, her head resting against his chest.

They must've walked quarter of a mile before the Doctor had to stop for a rest on a conveniently placed bench, and only because Jack had made him. He protested that they'd never get to Jackie's if they had to keep stopping, but was secretly glad of the break. He felt awful.

Then came the churning. Groaning. It was an awfully familiar sound… but no… it couldn't be… it was impossible…

A blue police box was fading into existence right in front of them, the light on the roof flashing white.

It was the TARDIS.

It became solid, the light no longer flashing. They only had to wait a few seconds before the wooden door opened, and a small brown-haired girl stood there, her equally as brown eyes watering.

"Daddy," Lottie said with a sniff, "I pressed a button and banged my knee."

* * *

Howard O'Hanon, close friend of Jackie Tyler (and he also tended to get hungry in his sleep) was sat on the sofa in his flat, watching a rendition of The Jeremy Kyle Show when the TARDIS appeared in his already small kitchen. Surprised, he got up and walked towards the double blue doors only for them to swing open and reveal Zoë and Lottie standing there, beaming from ear to ear.

"Uncle Howwie!" Lottie exclaimed, running forward towards the ginger-haired and green-eyed large Irish man and hugging him tightly, Zoë shortly following. Jack filed out of the TARDIS door next.

"Tis good ter see yer Jack," Howard said in his singsong Irish accent, shaking hands with the ex-Time Agent. Next the Doctor was coming out of the TARDIS door, his progress hindered from a horrific limp he had somehow acquired since their last meeting. Jack instantly scooted back to help the Time Lord, supporting him to the closest sofa. Instantly a bright blue dog with a pink mane and fuzzy pink tail ran into the room, yipping as he went.

"Bob!" the Doctor exclaimed as the Delorion jumped onto the sofa, sticking his tongue out and panting at his master. The Doctor stroked him, grinning like a loon. "Been a while since I saw you."

"Yip!" Bob replied, before his eyes looked down to the Doctor's upper right leg. Somehow, despite the fact all the bandages were hidden by trousers, Bob seemed to know there was something there. He began to whine, jumping over his Master's lap and bending down to his leg, sniffing and licking at the material that hid his wound from sight.

"Delorion saliva has natural healing properties," the Doctor explained quickly for the benefit of the others, "his instincts tell him to lick the injury better." His attentions turned to the two girls standing in front of him, one clutching onto a teddy bear. "Jack? Why don't you go take the girls to grab a bite to eat in the kitchen?"

"Ice cream!" Lottie demanded instantly, grabbing one of Jack's hands to hold onto whilst Zoë took the other. He nodded at the Doctor, turning and disappearing through the kitchen door with the girls skipping as they went. The Doctor waited a few seconds before he began to reveal his wound to Howard.

"Sorry I had to land here," the Doctor apologised as he unpeeled the bandage. "Couldn't risk Jackie's with all the security." The wound was finally revealed to Howard, who winced as Bob instantly sprang forward to lick it.

"'Ow'd yer get that then?"

"Harpoon," the Doctor said, wincing with the Delorion's touch.

"If Jackie sees yer like that…" Howard began but didn't need to finish as the Doctor was already shaking his head, rewinding the bandages up after Bob had done all his licking.

"Jackie's the least of my problems right now Howard," he said, "I have to find Rose and Rory, 'cause he's wandered off too now."

Then there was a brief silence in the room, thick with tension. This incredibly unnerved the Doctor who looked up at Howard, watching his expression carefully.

"What?" the Time Lord asked, his eyes full of innocence.

Howard took a breath, as if about to explain, but then thought better of it.

"I think Jackie better tell yer," he replied simply, turning to the phone.

* * *

Jackie arrived in less than ten minutes, practically ramming her way through the front door before suffocating the Doctor in a huge hug, shortly followed by Zoë, Lottie, and then a gleeful Jack. She practically made the Doctor rip his trousers off so she could see his injury, giving him a sharp slap before calling him every single different word for 'idiot' in the thesaurus shortly after which she gave him another suffocation hug and a motherly kiss on the forehead.

Ten minutes later with a cup of tea in hand, Jackie had calmed down from her rush of emotions and was now confronted with the Doctor's demanding stare that yelled, 'WHAT ABOUT ROSE?!' in capital letters.

Finally, Jackie spoke, "Doctor, about Rose, she's…"

"Yes?!" the Doctor demanded impatiently, having waited far too long now.

"Well, she phoned me a few days ago… But don't you worry! She's being taken care of right now as we speak…"

"Jackie?!"

"She's fine at the moment, she's stable…"

"JACKIE!"

Jackie passed, swallowing back the tears. "She thinks she's lost baby Jack."

There was a brief pause as the Doctor took this information in, his eyes wide and horrified. He suddenly pushed himself to his one working foot; now back in trousers as he regarded Jackie with a completely emotionless facial expression.

"What caused it Jackie," it wasn't a question. He expected an answer. She stumbled over her reply, half scared to death by this Doctor standing in front of her.

"She-she doesn't know exactly, but Torchwood threw 'er around and she took a hard fall. She thinks that might've been it."

There was another brief pause. "Excuse me," he said in a deadpan voice, turning and limping in through the TARDIS doors. He closed them behind him, managing to reach the console before the tears overwhelmed him and he began to weep uncontrollably, everything hitting him ten times as hard. His youngest son was dead. He had been taken from life before he'd even taken a breath of air. Little baby Jack. So young. Too young. Younger than Eva had been when she died…

He'd been murdered by Torchwood.

Suddenly the Doctor's grief turned to anger. Rage was building up inside him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. All of his goodliness, his drive to save lives was suddenly completely drowned by his tide of utter contempt for Torchwood, fire dancing in his eyes. Memories of the Time War came back thick and fast, his resent for Torchwood fuelled by what they had done to Zoë, to Jill, and the thirst to finally settle this. He was suddenly no longer aware of his own movements; his entire body heavy, cold and numb. But he knew what he was going to do.

He was The Oncoming Storm, and the eye of the storm was here.

* * *

No one wanted to go inside the TARDIS. Jack kept making a move as _if_ to go in, but for some reason kept pulling away at the last second. The Doctor would most likely be crying and would not want to be disturbed anyway.

Although, luckily for the silent crowd outside before time could drag on for too long, the TARDIS door opened again to reveal the Doctor. But something was seriously wrong.

They all watched, horrified as the Doctor sauntered out, no longer limping as he was oblivious to the pain in his leg. He had a bullet held between his teeth, in his hands a colt 45 handgun that he was presently loading. He had an AK-47 slung over his back, a line of sharp knives in a belt around his waist.

No one dared to even breath.

He finished loading the handgun, putting it into a holster hidden beneath his coat. He looked up to meet their gaze but his eyes, despite the same outward appearance, were somehow different – darker, unforgiving, _terrifying._

"I'll kill them," he grated; his voice two octaves lower than it used to be. "Every last one of them."

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 22 - Sacrifice_

_ "Doctor, please, please wake up and realise what you're doin'…"_

_ The Doctor continued to stare at him._

_ "Please," he begged again, "if you're in there come out now, save your soul…"_

_ The Doctor didn't verbally reply, instead he reached into his coat and drew out his gun, pointing it straight at Jack's head all in one swift movement. Jack instantly dropped to his knees, putting his hands behind his head in surrender as the others watched in horror from behind._


	22. Sacrifice

**A/N: **BECAUSE it's 5:30am it's actually Tuesday, but y'know what? Who cares! My old system of updating when I felt like it worked fine, so why should I bother with this Saturday-Wednesday update?

Ooo yes, and BTW, if any of you readers are **new to the Ramble series**, having not read 1, 2 or 3 then feel free to review or PM me anything you might not have clear in your head, so I can adapt and add it in :D Jenny does not exist in the Ramble world because the Ramble series is A/U from post Fear Her (series 2), so AoG; Doomsday - never happened. Series three and four do not exist in this world! The Doctor has never heard of Martha Jones! Rose never got sucked into a parallel world! Davros is still dead! etc...

And no, I'm not a proper book writer O.O I'm a fifteen-year-old girl with too much time on her hands. Though hello to Stephen Moffat if you're reading this :D If you're lacking writers for series five... :D

And of course, I hate this chapter. Though I hate every chapter, so what's the difference?

* * *

Chapter 22 – Sacrifice

"Doctor…"

Jack was as surprised as the rest of them that he'd managed to speak. Maybe it was because he was immortal and therefore couldn't die, when a bullet would easily take everyone else down. Maybe it was because he was more used to confronting psychopaths with large guns than the others were. Or maybe it was simply because he was completely stupid. He didn't know. All he knew was that suddenly this man that appeared to be the Doctor fixed his eyes on Jack's, the stare almost bringing him to his knees. He forced himself to speak again.

"Doctor, please, please wake up and realise what you're doin'…"

The Doctor continued to stare at him.

"Please," he begged again, "if you're in there come out now, save your soul…"

The Doctor didn't verbally reply, instead he reached into his coat and drew out his gun, pointing it straight at Jack's head all in one swift movement. Jack instantly dropped to his knees, putting his hands behind his head in surrender as the others watched in horror from behind.

"Doctor, listen to me," he pressed on with a force propelled only by fear. "If you're in there. Think of your dream of us. Can you remember your dream?"

He suddenly blinked, a single tear running down his cheek as he recalled his 'future vision' dream, one in which Jill had been stabbed, Jack and Zoë caked in mud – they had come true. He nodded, sharply.

"Do you remember what happened to Rose in the dream?" Jack continued, and he nodded again with more tears falling down his face. "She was shot, wasn't she? Now, take a look at yourself, and tell me what you see."

The Doctor's eyes dropped to the gun in his hand. Jack was right, Rose had been shot in his dream, and in his hand he was holding a _gun._

"Give me the gun, Doctor." Jack slowly dropped one of his hands from his head, reaching out towards the gun the Doctor held. "Give it to me."

Slowly, the Doctor let the gun slide from his grasp into Jack's hand. Jack inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, the battle had been won but the war was not over yet.

"Drop the rifle Doctor, drop the knives."

The Doctor set the pack of knives down on the sofa, shortly followed by the rifle. Straightening back up again, from a moment he just stood in utter silence.

Then he collapsed to his knees, head in his hands.

They all watched for a moment before someone stepped forward towards him – Zoë. She run up to him with Drunky under her arm, not even waiting before she touched him on the arm and he looked up at her, the girl wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on tightly. After a brief pause Lottie also run up to him, hugging him with her sister. A huge cloud of relief cast itself over the flat as the Doctor looked up at Jack, tears still awash in his eyes.

"Thank you Jack," he said, and Jack nodded in reply.

* * *

It wasn't until that evening did the Doctor finally decide what he was going to do about Rose.

He entered Howard's lounge where Jackie, Jack and Howard sat, limping towards the free place next to Jack. They seemed surprised.

"Thought you were asleep," Jack said as he made room for the Time Lord on the sofa. The Doctor shook his head.

"I was thinking," he said, staring at the television screen that was currently showing Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, as if deliberately trying to avoid everyone's gaze. "And I've decided what I'm gonna do."

"And what's that?" Jack prompted him. He continued to stare at the television.

"…I'm gonna give myself up to Torchwood."

Jack was on his feet instantly in alarm, Jackie and Howard not far behind.

"WHAT?!" Jack exclaimed, shocked and angry at the same time. "You can't do that!!"

Before the Doctor could reply Jackie grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him about to try and get some sense into him.

"Ain't you just spent the last week runnin' _away _from them?! What the hell you givin' yourself up for, eh?!"

The Doctor rested his hands on her arms, stopping them from shaking him. "Jackie," he said slowly and patiently, pushing himself onto his one working foot. "I've got no choice. It's the only thing I can do."

"What the hell makes you think that?!" Jack demanded.

"You stupid alien man!" Jackie was saying, and instantly the other three were shouting at him, yelling, pleading him not to follow it through. He stood there for ten seconds with them screaming abuse at him, feeling more and more distraught as the seconds trickled by. Finally he could stand it no longer.

"I'm going because my son is dead!!" The pain in his hearts made his eyes water and voice shake as he yelled the words. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks, suddenly guilty for having shouted at the broken Time Lord. The Doctor took a few breaths, trying to calm himself down before he spoke next: "I have to see Rose. For all we know, she could be dying too. This could be my last chance."

"Don't talk like that," Jackie said quietly.

He shrugged. "Maybe my son isn't dead. Maybe I can save him. I won't know unless I see Rose, and the only way I can see her is by giving myself up. I'm not going to let any of you talk me out of this. I leave tomorrow."

* * *

"You do remember what happened last time you gave yourself up to the evil forces?" Jack was saying as they travelled in a car towards Canary Wharf. "I swear Doc, even your past self said the only bones in your body that weren't broken were your ear bones."

"You won't talk me out of it, Jack," the Doctor said as folded his arms, staring out of the window to the streets of London rushing by.

"I know, I know, it's just…" Jack trailed off, pausing for a moment before clearing his throat and continuing, "I am SO not lookin' forward to this."

Jackie was eerily saying nothing from where she sat beside the Doctor, just listening to the conversation between Jack and the Doctor.

"You don't have to come in with me. They'll probably shoot you on sight, anyway."

"I want to, Doc. Besides…" He grinned. "Lottie kicked me in the shins and told me to go with you or else she'd slap me."

"Sounds like Rose." The Doctor grinned back.

They pulled up beside Canary Wharf, Jack turning off the car engine. For a moment they just sat in silence, taking in the moment.

"We're here," Jack finally said, pointlessly. The Doctor snapped out of his stare at the building, looking around the car at Jackie and Jack.

"Time to go then."

Jack nodded, getting out of his car door and pulled the Doctor's door open, sliding his arm around to support him as he got out. Within an instant Jackie was on his other side, also helping to support him as the three made their way slowly to the Canary Wharf entrance.

When they got inside, practically an entire army were waiting for them. Jack raised his free arm in surrender, every single barrel of the twenty-eight guns in the room pointed at the three.

"Welcome back to Torchwood One, Doctor," came Yvonne Hartman's cold voice from somewhere amidst the guns.

"Yvonne," the Doctor began, pulling away from Jack and Jackie to limp a few paces forward. A few guns distinctly clicked as they were loaded. "I'm here to give myself up. You have my wife, and in return for me trading myself in I wish to see her, and for her to be set free."

"And you can let me see 'er and all." Jackie stepped forward, hands on hips. "Where the hell is she?!"

"Where is your special daughter, Doctor?" Yvonne carried on, ignoring his proposition.

"Safe, where you won't find her," the Doctor replied simply. "You'll never touch any of my children ever again, so don't even bother trying."

Yvonne seemed to find this funny, but didn't let in on the joke. Instead she stepped forward a few paces to come within a metre of the Time Lord.

"I'm sure your deal can be arranged, Doctor," she said with that evil smile, before nodding to three guards on her right. "Take him to a cell."

"Yvonne," the Doctor warned in such a dark voice that the soldiers didn't even dare to move. "I want to see Rose now. I want her to be allowed to go. She will be allowed to go. You will let me see her now."

It was as if she had been hypnotised by him for a few seconds, staring at him for a moment before she snapped out of it and nodded.

"Take them to the infirmary," she said, gesturing at Jackie and the Doctor. "Jack, turn around and walk away."

Jack shared a glance with the Doctor before looking back at Yvonne and nodding. He turned around, knowing he couldn't do a thing as he reluctantly passed back through the entrance.

He emerged on the other side of the doors in the bright morning sunlight. It was then he realised that he wasn't too far from Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, where Jill currently was. He hadn't visited her for so long. He wondered how she was doing.

He left a note on the car for Jackie, explaining he'd be at the hospital should she wonder where he was. He needed to talk to her. He missed her.

Hands in pockets, he set off south towards the hospital.

* * *

**A/N:**

_Chapter 23 – In A Bit Of A Fix_

"_Rory!!" Rose screamed from where she sat, held by more guards. In front of her the Doctor was struggling to get to his feet but one well-placed hit to his upper right leg sent him sprawling back onto the ground, gasping in pain. Five seconds later the last of the guards disappeared out of the door, the lock clicking back into place. Rose could still hear her son's yells ten seconds later before they faded into nothing and she was left with the Doctor's shaky, heavy gasps for air._


	23. In A Bit Of A Fix

**A/N: **Okay, I'm gonna make a prediction. This story will be... around thirty five chapters long. Though I haven't decided how it's gonna end exactly. So y'know, that could easily double... :x BUT, I'm promising you an EPIC load of chapters inbetween here and the end. Seriously! It'll have more action than... a Kill Bill movie!

* * *

Chapter 23 – In A Bit Of A Fix

"Doctor?"

"Rose!"

Their eyes met the instant the Doctor walked into the room, a huge smile spreading on their faces as they saw each other for the first time in almost two weeks. The Doctor limped forward to the bed to engulf her in a giant hug, Rose noticing his limp immediately as their lips met. Seconds passed before the Doctor drew back and Rose eyed his leg. She didn't even need to ask as the Doctor shrugged, half smiling.

"Long story," he said simply, pulling her in for another kiss as Jackie took a seat on the other side of Rose. "I've missed you."

"Missed you too," she replied, "which is stupid 'cause it's only been two weeks, and you're bloody irritatin' when you are around."

He grinned, knowing she wasn't serious. At least, _hoping _she wasn't serious. Then he caught sight of her pregnancy bump out the corner of his eye. Rose saw this, tears instantly filling her eyes.

"Doctor…" she began, taking his hand. "I'm so sorry…"

He didn't reply – instead he rested his head sidewards on his wife's belly, listening for any signs of life. He could hear nothing.

"They wouldn't operate," Rose continued with tears rolling down her face. "Wouldn't touch him because he's alien. Left me to give birth to a dead baby."

The Doctor gritted his teeth, whipping out his Sonic from his jacket pocket and giving her a buzz of blue. He put his tongue between his teeth in concentration, holding it for a few seconds in determination to get a result.

Then the Sonic Screwdriver pulsed.

The Doctor looked at it in shock. Please, no false readings; false hope…

It pulsed again.

"Rose!" the Doctor yelled in delight, resisting the urge to jump up and down in excitement as a _huge _smile became awash on his face. "He's alive! He's fighting!"

"What?!" Rose was breathless with excitement, resting both her hands on her belly.

"Life signs are scattered, but he's there! You womb just needs a jolt…" He slipped the Sonic back into his jacket before turning to Rose, extending his hands to her head. "Anything you don't want me to see close a door bla bla bla," he said, closing his eyes. Jackie observed the two for a moment before Rose suddenly gave a gasp and the Doctor drew his hands away from her head. He launched back over to her belly, listening for movement but he needn't have bothered as he sprang up moments later.

"That was the hardest kick I've ever felt!" Rose breathed as she rubbed her swollen tummy. She looked to the Doctor with the intention to share her joy but his face was already scrunched up in concentration.

"Yes, but it still doesn't explain what caused the foetal distress in the first place." He looked to Rose. "What made you think you'd lost him?"

"Well, day after I got thrown onto the floor he stopped moving as much, then I started bleeding. Then I started getting these contractions that wouldn't stop…"

"Ah," the Doctor interrupted smoothly. "Think I know." He span around on one foot, limping over to the closest cupboard of medical equipment. The medical staff were watching him with caution and one stepped forward, a young brown haired woman with a clipboard.

"Can I help you?" she asked the Doctor and he nodded, not pausing in his search.

"I need an ultrasound device."

"We have one over here…"

Minutes later the Doctor was smearing a gel-like substance over his wife's belly, kissing her before proceeding with the scan. There was a screen on their left, showing a baby curled up tight in the womb, apparently sleeping. The Doctor moved the scan towards a giant blob on the side.

"Placenta. And there's the problem," the Doctor informed the gathered. "Can you see it?"

"See what?" Jackie wanted to know. He gestured for her to hold the ultrasound in place on Rose's womb before moving around to the monitor, tracing a finger around the blob.

"See that? That's the placenta, nutrients and stuff for the baby growing inside the womb. Umbilical cord comes out of that and attaches to the baby's stomach to form the navel. The placenta is attached to the side of the womb, but in this case…" He traced a finger around a small gap between the placenta and the lining of the womb. "It's partly come away from the side."

Rose nodded, understanding.

"So now a pocket of blood has built up between the placenta and the lining of the womb, spilling down and out. Meanwhile, baby Jack is being starved of the nutrients he needs as the placenta slowly breaks away from the lining of the womb, causing foetal distress. Placental abruption!" he surmised, taking a bow to the crowd.

"So how do we fix this?"

The Doctor returned to Rose's side, sitting on the cover. "Well, we've got three options. Either we leave it and hope the gap doesn't break anymore before Jack's born; perform a caesarean to get Jack out as soon as possible; or I can induce early labour."

"What d'you think?" Rose asked, retaking his hand. He shrugged.

"I'd like to induce it early, but since we're not in the TARDIS with all of her gizmos – technical term, that – it would make more sense to leave it for now and see what happens. We're only two weeks off of the due date anyway."

"Okay, we'll do that then," Rose said as she reached up to kiss him again. "I love you, you're so clever."

"Yes I am, aren't I?" the Doctor said with a grin.

"Umm, Doctor?" came Jackie's voice suddenly and the Doctor looked up, before his eyes switched to her hand still holding the ultrasound device in place. "Can I let go of this now?"

* * *

"Good," the inhuman voice scratched in reply to Yvonne Hartman's report of the recaptured Doctor. "A pity we couldn't find the child too, but the Doctor will do for the Final Experiment."

"Would you like his human wife present at the Final Experiment, sir?" Yvonne asked nervously, still nothing short of terrified.

The man nodded, regarding Yvonne with dark eyes.

"Do not forget we also have his son," the man added. "A shame we couldn't get the rest of his family too. A sort of family reunion as they watch, with their own eyes, the rebirth of the Time Lords. It draws closer, Miss Hartman. Finally after so long, Gallifrey will exist once more. Only this time, they'll rule the Universe under _my_ command."

* * *

Rose woke up.

The first thing she noticed was that her throat was _incredibly _sore, to such a degree it hurt to breathe. The next thing she noticed was she was tied up around the wrists and ankles, making it very difficult to move.

Then she noticed she was no longer in the Infirmary. This new place seemed a whole lot more… metallic, empty, more space-like. It was then she noticed the other people in the room with her, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Doctor? Rory?" she asked the two people, but they were both out for the count, tied up like she was. She couldn't even remember what had _happened _to get them there. She must've been drugged. "Rory, honey? Doctor? Wake up!" she hissed again, feeling the slightest bit helpless and lonely. "Please!"

"Ugh…" came a low moan from the closest person to her, Rory. His eyes flickered open, but the drowsiness in them instantly turned into alarm as he realised his predicament. "Mum? Oh, am I glad to see you."

"Rory, we need to wake up your father."

"I'll give him a mental whack," Rory offered, shifting across the cold metal floor to his father and placing his hands as best his could on either side of the Doctor's head. Seconds later the Doctor seemed to jerk slightly, his eyes flying open.

"Whoa," he muttered, struggling to sit up. "You just woke me up from a _really _good dream."

"Mum made me," Rory said instantly, sliding back across the floor to the wall to sit up.

"We need to get out of these ropes," Rose said instantly, looking to the Doctor expectantly.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Time for the Sonic Screwdriver?" Rose asked with a smile, and smile that faded fast when she saw the Doctor's fallen facial expression as his hands struggled to delve into his pocket.

"Yeah… about that," the Doctor started nervously.

Rose sighed. "Don't even tell me."

"I only left it in the infirmary! Could've been worse. Yvonne could have it."

"Oh yeah," Rose started sarcastically, automatically trying to fold her arms but failing due to the ropes. "'Cause that's a tragedy, Yvonne Hartman will be able to open the very few doors that aren't made of wood and aren't deadlocked sealed, but she won't think to look for it in the infirmary!"

"Tch Rose, I was only trying to see the bright side."

Rose swiftly changed the subject. "Doctor, we've moved. Where are we?"

He paused, frowning in concentration. "Well, we're moving through normal space at a comfortable 299 792 458 metres per second…"

"That's light speed," Rory muttered tiredly.

"…Destination unknown, reason unknown, but it's definitely got something to do with Torchwood," the Doctor carried on, regardless.

"But humans haven't learnt how to go as fast as light speed yet," Rose pointed out. How can Torchwood be doing this?"

"Good point, and correct," the Doctor said, nodding. "Unless of course, it's not Torchwood doing this but rather Yvonne's _mysterious boss_…"

They all exchanged looks.

"So," the Doctor began again, brightly. "Rory kiddo, how'd _you _get here?"

Rory shrugged. "Dunno really. Can't remember. I stepped out of the TARDIS, there was this man there who told me you'd all been captured by something and that UNIT and Torchwood were trying to find you. Then… I can't remember anything else."

"_Completely _the opposite actually. You believed him?"

Rory looked indignant. "What else was I supposed to believe? UNIT and Torchwood helped us find you last time you got yourself into a big mess, why, are they the bad guys?"

"I've just spent the last two weeks running away from them," the Doctor answered swiftly, gesturing at his right leg. "Also got a harpoon right through my leg for my troubles."

Rory winced. "Sorry dad, I didn't know."

"You didn't know what was going on. It's quite lucky you left the TARDIS when you did, else Lottie would've never pressed the button an-"

"Hello Doctor, Rose and little Rory, isn't it?" suddenly came a woman's voice from speakers out of nowhere – Rose and the Doctor would recognise the voice anywhere, and they were both getting a little fed up of it.

"Yvonne," the Doctor said with a heavy sigh. "So what's all this about? Is this your 'superior's' vessel?"

"Yes, Doctor. He wants you and your family to be present at the Final Experiment."

"Final experiment, eh?" the Doctor repeated sounding vaguely interested. "That's ominous. Well go on, spill the beans, what is it?"

"Oh Doctor, you'll find out soon enough."

"Rightiho then," the Doctor replied, lying back down on the floor. "Buh-bye!"

"Oh, and just to let you know Doctor," Yvonne's even voice continued, "we're taking Rory."

The door burst open and suddenly the entire room was awash with guards.

"Dad! Mum!" Rory cried out as three guards grabbed him roughly and hauled him towards the door, the Time Lord boy kicking and screaming.

"Rory!!" Rose screamed from where she sat, held by more guards. In front of her the Doctor was struggling to get to his feet but one well-placed hit to his upper right leg sent him sprawling back onto the ground, gasping in pain. Five seconds later the last of the guards disappeared out of the door, the lock clicking back into place. Rose could still hear her son's yells ten seconds later before they faded into nothing and she was left with the Doctor's shaky, heavy gasps for air.

"Doctor!" she cried out, a mixture of fear, shock and yet more fear at what had just happened. She shifted forward towards him as best she could. "Are you alright?"

"Just gimme a second," he breathed, face contorted with pain.

"Bastards," Rose swore. "They took him, my baby…" Tears were welling up in her eyes. "They're gonna kill him or torture him or…"

"Rose." The Doctor pushed himself to sit up, moving over to her to hold her in comfort as best as he could with tied hands. "He'll be fine. He's smart. He can handle himself."

Rose nodded, believing his every word.

For a while they just sat there in silence, the Doctor holding Rose to him as though he'd never let go. Torchwood. The name was like acid on his tongue, getting less and less pH as the seconds passed. Once again he promised himself as soon as he got out of this mess, he'd get rid of them once and for all. They'd had their second chance. Infact, they'd had their third fourth and fifth too.

Then came a shuffling sound from above them. The Doctor looked up, seeing nothing of remote interest. Air in the pipes, that was all.

"Ow, ow, ow!" suddenly came a voice from above, _definitely _not voice of air. "Bloody ridges… ah… ahhhh…"

Rose was also looking up, severely confused.

"That isn't who I think it is, is it?"

"I think it probably is…" the Doctor muttered, shifting Rose and himself out of the landing zone of the ventilation shaft metal grating.

Then came a buzzing sound – the Sonic Screwdriver! Seconds later the metal grating fell to the floor with a loud clang, landing where the Doctor and Rose had been sat five seconds ago. Suddenly a person dropped down onto all fours in front of them, all thirty-two shiny, pearly white teeth present and correct in a happy grin.

"Did you miss me?" Captain Jack Harkness asked.

* * *

After Jack had buzzed them free of the ropes they chose to take the door-route, as it would be too difficult to get back into the ventilation shaft. The Doctor explained the situation to Jack of the taken Rory, Jack giving Rose a reassuring smile.

"He'll be fine Rose," he said, "I mean, just look at his parents. Survival is in his genes."

Rose smiled back at him, glad of the reassurance. She was pining for her son, yearning for him to be back in her arms once more. Now she knew how her mum had felt every time Rose had gone out late without telling her.

"What?!" suddenly yelled a voice from behind them, and the three span around to meet to wide-eyed guard staring at them as though they all possessed three heads each. "How did they get out?!"

"Run!" the Doctor yelled, almost in delight as he grabbed his pregnant wife's hand and pelted it to the nearby lift. Rose was gasping by the time she got there, one hand on her swollen belly.

The guards were running towards the lift, but the Doctor had already stabbed the lift button. He gave them a little farewell wave as the doors whizzed shut, and they began to descend.

"So what's the plan Doc?" Jack asked. The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing between his wife and best friend.

"Well, first of all we need to secure some get away transport; an escape pod back to Earth. Then we need to find Rory, make sure he's okay before…" he suddenly trailed off, his eyes suddenly stopping in their glancing and fixing on Rose.

"What?" she asked, a little unnerved.

"Umm, well…" the Doctor began, his hand rising up to point at her belly, before his eyes dropped down to stare at the sight. "Did you know your waters have broken?"

Rose blinked, surprised as she looked down. "Oh," she muttered, dumbly.

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 24 – First Floor Perfumery_

"_I'm going into labour!" she gasped, more than surprised. The second contraction came on without warning drawing out a deep long groan._

"_What a time to go into labour!" Jack commented airily, taking the Sonic Screwdriver offered by the Doctor and buzzing the lift panel, which exploded with bright sparks. The lift suddenly screeched and ground to an abrupt halt, Jack and the Doctor falling to their knees. In the surprise that followed, Rose gave out another long groan._

"_Doctor!" Rose cried, reaching out and clawing his arm. "Doctor…"_


	24. First Floor Perfumery

**A/N: **In which Rose gives birth. In a lift. I'm very original about these things.

* * *

Chapter 24 – First Floor Perfumery

The first contraction caught Rose by surprise. She cried out in both shock and pain, collapsing into the waiting Doctor's arms. He lowered her to the lift floor carefully, leaning her up against the wall.

"I'm going into labour!" she gasped, more than surprised. The second contraction came on without warning drawing out a deep long groan.

"What a time to go into labour!" Jack commented airily, taking the Sonic Screwdriver offered by the Doctor and buzzing the lift panel, which exploded with bright sparks. The lift suddenly screeched and ground to an abrupt halt, Jack and the Doctor falling to their knees. In the surprise that followed, Rose gave out another long groan.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, reaching out and clawing his arm. "Doctor…"

"It's okay Rose, just push when I tell you to," he said, taking off his coat and curling it around her shoulders. "Trust me, I'm a Doctor. Take deep breaths, he'll be out before you know it. Undo the top few buttons, sweetheart. He'll need the contact to keep warm."

"Thank God you wore a dress," Jack remarked as he also took off his coat, folding it up and placing it behind Rose's head. "It'll be okay Rose, it'll be okay. Breath steadily."

"This is gonna be quick," the Doctor warned. "I just need to check the dilation. Stay with me."

"Why doesn't this get any easier?!" Rose gasped, reaching out to clutch at the Doctor. "I HATE YOU AND YOUR SPERM!"

Jack and the Doctor exchanged a look, before the Doctor found a new pair of gloves in his coat pocket and checked the dilation.

"You're doing well Rose, it's at five centimetres, keep going. This is fast, it'll all be over soon."

"I need to push," she gasped, another contraction making her cry out.

"Rose, just blow, don't push," he searched out her hand, clutching it tightly. "I know it's hard."

"How can _you _know what labour feels like?! Lemme push you alien bastard!" she practically shrieked between blowing and panting.

"If you push now the cervix will swell and prolong labour."

"I don't want your bloody medical babble!" Rose shrieked, having would've thrown something at him if there had been anything available. The Doctor didn't waver. He was used to this by now. During Lottie's birth he'd been unconscious for two minutes because Rose had hit him with a lamp. Staying calm during birth was not really Rose's forte.

"Rose listen to me, you can't push yet," Jack supported the Doctor in his battle against Rose.

She gasped as another contraction hit, groaning through it. "They're getting closer," the Doctor commented, checking the dilation.

"It hurts… I can't…" Tears were falling down her face, in need of a hug. Jack moved to hold her as the Doctor couldn't move from his position.

"Rose it's okay, seven centimetres. Not long now. Stay with me, you can do it." The Doctor could hear himself saying it like he was sure it would be fine, though really he was panicking inside. He'd studied human birth fervently after the incident with Rory and Eva so he knew the textbook version of it, but he'd never had the chance to put it into practise. They had no medical assistance, and he'd said himself before that there was a possibility Rose could die during childbirth of a Gallifreyan baby without medical intervention. And what about complications? What if Jack had been put under too much stress already? A stillbirth? What if Rose started bleeding again? What if… what if… what if Eva happened all over again?

He gritted his teeth, determined not to let his past repeat itself.

Suddenly the lift jerked, and began to descend once more. The three looked up in shock.

"They started it up again," Jack noted, taking out the Sonic Screwdriver and buzzing the lift panel once more. Another explosion of sparks and the lift screeched to another messy halt as Rose groaned through another contraction.

"We don't have much time," the Doctor muttered quietly, more to himself than the others. "If the lift moves again at the wrong moment it could break the baby's neck."

"Don't hurry me!!" Rose gasped, before moaning again in concealed agony with another contraction. "Doctor… Please…"

"Blow Rose, blow with each breath. Take your time; nothing's more important than you right now, okay?" he said gently to her, leaning forward to peck her a kiss. He gazed into her eyes, enchanting her with that look of total and absolute trust. "We're going to have this baby boy right here, right now, and _no one _is going to stop us. We're going to find Rory alive and well, we're all going to go back to Earth, find Lottie, Zoë, Jackie and the TARDIS and _then _I am going to wipe every last stinking remainder of Torchwood out of the Universe. But first, we have to get through this. Do you trust me?"

She nodded, and he kissed her again.

"Good." He moved around to check the dilation again. "We're getting close, almost there. Don't give up now."

"Please, let me push, let me push…" she said over and over again, crying into Jack. "I can't stop it…"

"Do you want to change positions?" the Doctor asked her. She shook her head, almost exhausted alone at resisting the urge to push.

"Rose, if you feel the need to kill someone then remember I'm right next to you and ready to take a few hits," Jack reminded her with a smile and despite the pain and her messed up head, Rose smiled back.

The Doctor checked again, suddenly a broad grin spreading. "Okay, go for it Rose. Push with the next contraction, you know the drill."

He watched as Rose pushed and panted, blowing each breath through every push. Jack was grimacing, hiding cries of pain as Rose's grip crushed his hand until it was purple.

Only was only a matter of seconds before the Doctor could see the top of baby Jack's head.

"He's crowning, stop pushing, Rose," the Doctor said quickly, "pant, keep panting."

The lift jolted again. Torchwood were trying desperately to get them out of it.

Jack buzzed the lift panel again. "They should've figured that's not gonna work by now," he said wryly as sparks burst once more.

The Doctor was far too immersed in delivering his fourth child to notice what else was going on. "Okay, Rose, off we go again. Just a little more now."

The broad smile on the Doctor's face was incredibly infectious Jack found as the shoulder began to emerge. The Time Lord was beside himself with glee.

"Rose, he's got lots of brown hair!" he announced, "and I think your nose…"

Rose smiled, releasing the immortal Jack a little bit from her death clutch, who quietly sighed in relief.

"One last gentle push Rose, then we're home free."

Rose gave it one last effort before collapsing, exhausted. The Doctor was grinning from ear to ear as he held up a tiny baby in both hands, who was currently looking a little surprised. The Doctor pulled off his jacket one-handed with baby Jack cradled in his right hand, before settling him on Rose's chest and covering them both with his jacket.

It was then baby Jack started to cry, and his father almost with him. The Doctor cupped the boy's head before kissing Rose again, holding the both of them close to him.

"I need to push," Rose suddenly said quietly, keeping her voice down for baby Jack.

"It's just the placenta, your body'll do all the work for you," the Doctor replied just as quietly as he took the offered Sonic Screwdriver from Jack to buzz the now white umbilical cord in two.

"No… I _need _to push…"

The Doctor frowned, moving back around. The lift suddenly took off again. This time the Doctor punched the panel, leaving a blooded print on the wall. The lift again ground to a halt.

"Doctor, can I push?" Rose asked, and Captain Jack was also frowning with the Doctor. She shouldn't need to push that much with the delivery of the placenta… What escaped the Doctor's mouth next was not appropriate for the TARDIS to translate, shock setting in on him as he realised what it was.

"Rose… There's another one, it's twins…"

"My GOD, Rose," Jack burst out, unable to stop himself. "How many you keepin' up there?!"

"How can I have missed another one?" the Doctor demanded of himself. "Unless… This one was _behind _baby Jack…"

"Doctor," Rose said firmly between pants, "can I bloody push or not?"

"Oh! Right, sorry, yes," the Doctor said, hands waiting to guide the second one out. "Please, don't a breach, please Rassilon. That'll be too much right now," he prayed softly. Then he could see the head. "Thank you, Rassilon, it's head down! C'mon Rose, keep pushing, it'll be fine I promise you."

He breathed a sigh of relief as the second one was finally safe in his hands, crying loudly. He laid it next to his son and kissed a breathless Rose. She was spent, but it wasn't over yet. He had to get the placenta out next.

"What is it?" Jack asked, waiting hopefully for the Doctor to whip his shirt off. It didn't happen. For several seconds.

Only then did he wrap the boy in his jacket, letting Rose hold him. And then his shirt came flying off, leaving him in only his under t-shirt.

"Aw, man!" Jack grumbled under his breath. "So many layers.

The Doctor flashed him a smile as he wrapped his shirt around the baby and turned to Jack. "It's a girl. Need to deliver the placenta. Take her," he said, staring into the ex-Time Agent's eyes for a few seconds but for some reason not offering the baby girl. He was reading Jack, checking he _was _Jack and he was _totally_ sane before he handed his newborn child to him. To help him along Jack held out his arms, conveying a look of total trust in his eyes. Finally the Doctor held out the baby girl to Jack, who took her with the utmost care and cradled her close, holding her against Rose's chest as baby Jack was. The Doctor watched him with hawk eyes for a few moments before turning back to Rose, giving her an uplifting smile.

"Is she okay?" Rose was asking, though through her facial expression he could tell she was concealing pain. The Doctor nodded.

"Perfectly healthy baby girl. Let's finish this off," he said, unable to control his manic smile. "You're gonna have to push this placenta out Rose. Can you feel the contractions?" She nodded. "Then push!"

It was only a matter of a minute before the placenta was out and all three adults were leant against the lift wall, utterly exhausted with the two babies taking their first feed from their mother. Both of them were fine, and that was all the Doctor ever wished for. But he had to get them to the TARDIS to 'charge'…

The lift jolted again, the Doctor arms instinctively flying around Rose and his children to protect them. By this time the Sonic Screwdriver had found its way into Jack's hands, so he raised it to buzz the panel again. The Doctor stopped him with a raised hand.

"Let it happen. They'll be waiting for us either way."

Jack nodded, getting onto his feet as did the Doctor with a flash of pain through his head. They were ready to face the Torchwood army.

"Don't let them take my babies, Doctor…" Rose begged him, closing her eyes. "Don't let 'em, don't let 'em…"

"I won't Rose, I promise I won't." The Doctor took his children from his wife's exhausted arms, Jack taking the little girl with the Doctor holding baby Jack tightly. The Doctor guided Rose gently to lie down on the floor, his coat covering her with Jack's still beneath her head. "I'll die first."

"Me too," Jack said with a nod to the Doctor. "However many times it takes."

Another slice of pain slashed through the Doctor's skull and he groaned out loud, one hand raising to cradle it. It was happening again. What had happened in the dead end of Torchwood Four, it was happening again… As he opened his eyes once more Jack's blurry outline swam into focus, his face concerned.

"Are you okay?"

The Doctor shook his head to clear it, before nodding and straightening. "I'm fine," he answered, but all the same, let Jack take his baby boy out of his arms.

Then the lift door buzzed opened, and a dozen rifles were loaded and pointed straight at them. Baby Jack and his sister both began to cry loudly in Captain Jack's arms, and the soldier's expressions instantly turned to confusion. They turned back their leader, Yvonne Hartman, awaiting orders.

"Get the babies," she said simply, and instantly the soldiers turned and began to jog towards them.

"No, Yvonne!" the Doctor heard Jack yelled, but everything was already going out of focus. Why was this happening? What was making him black out?! Why now when his family were in danger?!

Everything became disjointed, colours began to mix together and suddenly that hymn was back in his head – the hymn from his childhood, the hymn of Rassilon. He felt himself collapse to his knees with the pain from his leg wound now completely numbed, hearing himself crying out in agony. The rest of his body went numb before he hit the floor, hearing Jack's alarmed cries somewhere in the distance. Then he was no longer in control as the world faded to nothing.

* * *

The guards had stopped dead in their tracks as the Doctor had hit the floor, surprised and unsure of what to do. They awaited orders and Yvonne was about to give them, when suddenly the Doctor's body began to glow.

What the hell was happening?!

The Doctor was suddenly rising up off of the floor, though he wasn't using his own strength. His eyes snapped open and everyone reeled as suddenly the Doctor's eyes were bright white, and all the guards collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

It left Yvonne standing on her own in the middle of the room, eyes transfixed on this new, shining Doctor. She was trying desperately to think of an explanation but nothing would come, she _knew _his species couldn't do this; it was _impossible…_

He seemed to glide towards her, never blinking or moving his gaze. She tried to move but an invisible force was sticking her to the ground – she didn't know whether he'd done it or it was her own _fear._

The Doctor didn't say a word. He simply raised a hand, waving it in front of Yvonne's eyes. She collapsed to the floor, out cold.

"Doctor?" Jack tried hesitantly, and the Doctor turned slowly and gracefully to met him. He nodded, raising his hand towards the lift control panel. He clicked his fingers. Before Jack or Rose could do anything the lift doors buzzed closed and they began to ascend.

"What the hell?!" Jack was saying over and over again, handing baby Jack to Rose so he could buzz the lift panel with the Sonic, jab it with his fingers – anything. They had to get back down to the Doctor or… whatever that thing was.

But even as he tried, he knew it was hopeless.

"Jack!" Rose was calling, sounding terrified and distraught at the same time. "What's happenin'?!"

But Jack couldn't answer her as the lift doors buzzed open, and they found themselves on the floor of escape pods. The lift controls were useless, but at least they were on the right floor. They had to take an escape pod, and leave the Doctor to the mercies of Yvonne and her boss.

* * *

**A/N: **Time Lord Babiez!

Okay I'm writing chapter 26 at the moment and you know that epic thing I promised? It's going good! I promise you will have at least one heart attack during this fic :D

_Chapter 25 – Unnamed_

"_I'm guessing I'm still in Torchwood?" the Doctor said next, feeling strangely helpless as the man came up to stand beside him, looking down._

"_Could you not tell by the ropes?" the man replied. "Have you worked it out yet?"_

"_Worked what out? The meaning of life? The Skasis Paradigm? The point of American remakes of British television programs?"_

"_Amusing as ever, Doctor." The man smiled, but it was empty._

"_So go on, spill the beans. You're Yvonne's mysterious boss, right? Your plan's looking pretty epic at the moment, so what's next on the agenda?"_


	25. And So They Meet!

Chapter 25 – And So They Meet!

"Yvonne!" yelled an authoritive voice over the groans and moans of rousing Torchwood and UNIT guards, nursing heavy heads. "What's going on!" it was a demand to know, not a question.

Yvonne was also drowsy, sitting on the floor with her hand over her eyes. She looked up as the figure approached, suddenly terrified.

"I don't know sir, I don't know what happened!" The man stared into her eyes, reading her thoughts… She was telling the truth. They'd all lost their memory. He cast a glance over to the lift; suddenly elated to see the Doctor laid there a few metres in front, also unconscious. Instantly the man forgot about the puzzlement of how over a dozen people could have simultaneously collapsed at the same time and gave a smile.

"Ooo, lookie what we've got here," he said, waving his hand towards the body on the floor as he approached. "Someone get him up off the floor."

Two guards moved forward to oblige, taking an arm each and pulling the Time Lord up onto his knees. Medics had already been called; by the time the Doctor was in cuffs they had arrived, and the Doctor was lifted onto a gurney, still unconscious.

"Take him to a high security cell," the man said, "I know him. He's slippery, that one. Don't take any chances."

* * *

"How's Jill?" was one of the first questions Rose had asked as soon as they had arrived back at Howard's and recovered from the two hour journey in the escape pod, all the occupants of the flat having been rudely awakened by the loud crying of babies from the front room at 7:00am.

"She's fine," Jack answered, a slow smile spreading on his face. "She's gonna be discharged after Dawn's born, so they can keep an eye on her."

"That's great!" Rose replied and hugged him tightly, being careful not to disturb the sleeping Lottie on her lap. "So she was awake then?"

Jack almost snorted with amusement. "Yeah, awake enough tell me to get my ass in gear and go save you guys. With a slap. So I did the oldest trick in the book – dressed up as a guard, got into Torchwood and onto the ship, waited for the right moment and climbed into the air vents to drop down and rescue you."

"Torchwood security is really bad, ain't it?" Jackie mused as she held baby Jack in her arms. Zoë was sitting beside her, leant over and staring down at the baby boy with obvious intrigue. "Where _is_ the Doctor, anyway?"

Rose and Jack exchanged a glance.

"Oh," Jackie said, already nodding. "Went on one of his self-sacrifice things?"

Rose and Jack exchanged another glance.

"Kinda," Jack finally supplied.

"He got bright," Zoë suddenly said, all heads turning to her. "But he's not ready to know. Doomsday hasn't come yet. But it's coming. It's getting louder. It's hurting my ears."

"Zoë?" Rose asked amidst the brief silence that followed, handing the now rousing Lottie gently to Jack as she moved to sit beside her daughter, taking her into a protective hug. "What's gettin' louder?"

Zoë seemed to ignore her, clutching onto Drunky tightly as always. "He got bright, granny. Made people fall asleep. Then he fell asleep. But he's waking up soon, he's scared and confused and it's getting so loud now."

"Sweetheart?" Rose tried again, but it was like talking to a brick wall.

"No one knows. No one knows what's next. I don't want it…" She suddenly looked up at her mother, holding Drunky to her. "Fix him?"

Rose took the bear, nodding to the girl.

"'Course I will, honey."

* * *

The Doctor woke up, groggy and in pain. What the hell had happened? Last thing he remembered… He'd been in the lift, the Torchwood guards coming towards him… Then he'd blacked out. Where was Rose? And Jack? And his children?

Rarely for the Time Lord, he was feeling confused and scared. What had Torchwood done to them? And _why _was he tied down tightly to a table in the middle of a dark, cold room? He _must _still be in Torchwood, if only deduced by his current situation.

Unless this was one of Rose's kinky ideas.

But as the door opened and a small, weedy looking man entered with three guards at his beck and call, he knew he was still with Torchwood from the amount guns waving warningly in his face. He gave a forced grin.

"I'm not dangerous, you can untie me," he said, but the man seemed to only laugh.

"Rather not, thanks."

The Doctor strained his head up to get another look at the man, who was now standing at the foot of the table the Doctor was lying on. Small, thin, blue eyes…

"I'm guessing I'm still in Torchwood?" the Doctor said next, feeling strangely helpless as the man came up to stand beside him, looking down.

"Could you not tell by the ropes?" the man replied. "Have you worked it out yet?"

"Worked what out? The meaning of life? The Skasis Paradigm? The point of American remakes of British television programs?"

"Amusing as ever, Doctor." The man smiled, but it was empty.

"So go on, spill the beans. You're Yvonne's mysterious boss, right? Your plan's looking pretty epic at the moment, so what's next on the agenda?"

The man seemed a little disappointed somehow, circling around the table at a slow, manageable pace. "I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in you. I'd have thought even through the human genetics you'd sense me…"

"Sense you?" the Doctor repeated, watching him carefully. "Who are you?"

The man leant forward, his face inches from the Doctor's. He went for the dramatic impact. "You're the Doctor… and I'm the Master."

"That's nice," the Doctor replied cheerily, "but I'd rather not kiss you if you don't mind."

The Master seemed surprised, drawing back from the Doctor and folding his arms.

"What? No pang of fear?" The Doctor shook his head. "No guilt?" He shook his head again. "Not even the _slightest _bit of surprise?" The Doctor shrugged. Or at least, he would've if he could move properly.

"To be honest, you kind of gave the game away a long time ago. But at least now I know for sure. Everything was you. I defeated you in my Eighth body, banishing you to the Eye of Harmony in my TARDIS. You stayed dormant through all that time inside the TARDIS, just biding your time to strike once more. You failed and failed and failed until one day… BAAM! You broke through the barrier, allowing actual control of the TARDIS. Well, not total control; just minor things like air conditioning and gravitational fields. But it was enough to get me to notice, and interested in the console… then you struck."

"What a clever boy you are, Doctor," the Master praised.

"You literally blew up in my face," the Doctor carried on, "transferring from inside the TARDIS to inside me. You hid yourself deep within my subconscious so I wouldn't be able to detect you, but inevitably you had to have a bit of fun so you planted that dream of my entire family dying: Rose shot, Jill stabbed, Lottie crushed. With my defences down you began to further probe into my subconscious, causing massive headaches as you watched replays of the Time War when I slept and dreamt."

"10/10, High Cardinal Borusa would be pleased, Doctor," the Master was giving that thin, evil smile of his. "Do carry on, it's a bit of an ego-booster for me."

"From these dreams you learnt of the extinction of the Time Lords, so you decided to do something about it. One night when everyone was asleep you invaded my unconscious mind and took my body for a wander around the flat, stabbing Jill and taking my powerful daughter out on a stroll to Torchwood, preparing to become affiliated with the enemy who wanted nothing more than to cut me up into tiny pieces. At first they were sceptical, torturing you to get the truth out hence the whip marks I mysteriously acquired, but eventually they accepted you were _not _the Doctor and just possessing me… and suddenly you commanded Yvonne Hartman."

"Ooo, this is the best bit!" the Master said happily, beaming as he was genially elated. "Tell it Doctor, tell it!"

"You hid Zoë from me, slipping back covertly to let me wake up from another nightmare, so as not to rouse suspicion. I woke up the next morning to find Jill stabbed and my daughter missing, none the wiser about any of it. You lingered for a few days before invoking something in my mind, and I promptly disappeared for three days straight in order to carry out experiments on my own daughter without me even knowing or remember doing it. You heavily drugged me before you took me back to flat, finally leaving my body for good. I woke up with total amnesia of what had happened and a great big headache to match."

"It was all too easy," the Master said, nodding, "manipulating you and your family. It was fun whilst it lasted."

"Where are they?" the Doctor demanded, and the Master raised an eyebrow.

"The immortal freak and your human wife got away I presume, last I heard was they were in a lift with you and twenty minutes later an escape pod detached, programmed for Earth. Everyone seems to have a foggy memory from the moment the lift doors opened on the ground floor to the time they woke up, Doctor. Perhaps you'd like to fill in the gaps?"

"Believe me, Koschei, I'd love to," the Doctor replied, addressing the Master by name. "Except I can't remember either."

"Convenient." The Master turned to the guards at the door, giving them a nod before turning back to the Doctor. "I'm no expert on amnesia – well, maybe I am a little – but what I _am_ pretty sure about is that this might be able to jog it a bit."

"Get off, already!" came the unmistakable sound of the only teenage Gallifreyan in existence, currently being dragged through the doorway into the room, held by five guards. He pushed his head up, eyes widening at the sight of his father. "Dad? What the hell?"

"Koschei…" The Doctor's attention turned back to the Master. "Let him go."

"Yeah, but this body's getting tired of hosting my essence, I need a new shell, this time permanent. Rory here is a strong, healthy, young Gallifreyan – the perfect host body."

"Your quarrel is with me, not him. Leave my son alone. Host me instead."

"Why would I wanna host _you? _You don't even have any regenerations left."

The Doctor stared at him. "Yes, I do."

"No, you really don't. I can't feel the Time Lord vibes off you. You can't regenerate anymore. I'm not lying. Your regenerative energy is totally spent."

"But…"

"If you don't believe me, take a look for yourself."

The Doctor closed his eyes, reaching around inside his mind to try and find any remnant of regeneration that might be left. There was nothing. He couldn't regenerate. Suddenly he became a whole lot more aware of his own mortality, his human-like weakness.

"What have you done, Koschei?!" he whispered, disbelieving. But the Master was shrugging.

"I've done nothing." The Master moved over in front of Rory, blocking the boy from the Doctor's view. The Doctor clenched his fists.

"Please, leave him alone, I'm begging you, Koschei. Let him go. He's just a boy."

The Master only gave that empty smile, pausing for a moment before he placed his hand on Rory's forehead. Rory struggled in the grip of his captors but it was no use as the Master closed his eyes and suddenly he collapsed to the floor like a rag doll, a cloud of blackness visually transferring from him to the Gallifreyan boy. The Doctor was trying in vain to break from his bonds but he was as helpless as his son at that present moment.

Rory went rigid as the cloud fully passed into him, eyes closing and unable to hear his father's calls. After ten seconds of silence he finally opened his deep brown eyes, relaxing in the guards' grip as he stared at his father still tied down.

"Well," the boy finally said in the well-pronounced tone of the Master, "where were we?"

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 26 – Trial Of A Time Lord_

_ The Doctor remained silent, his eyes dropping to the floor. The Master was still smiling._

_ "The defendant stands accused of murder on a massive scale, the exact count is not known, but in this particular instance we'll just mention the estimated three billion Gallifreyans in the Citadel alone that died at his hand."_

_ The public gallery was a chorus of gasps._


	26. Trial Of A Time Lord

**A/N: **Okay, I'm currently on chapter 30 and I can smell the end!

* * *

Chapter 26 – Trial Of A Time Lord

The Doctor woke up next in a cell.

He had one hell of a sore throat so he obviously must've been drugged again - he probably had more drugs inside him than a Pharmacy. He didn't move from the position he lay in on the cold, hard stone bed, for a moment just taking in his peaceful surroundings, despite being in a prison. He could hear the hustle and bustle of a working town overhead: the manic chatter of people in the street; the shouts of traders promising great deals to their customers. It was quite soothing in a way.

Then suddenly a loud bell began to ring from above, and the Doctor instantly sat up on the bed.

"Public execution! Public execution! Midday! Public Execution! Town square!"

Public execution?!

The Doctor sprang onto his feet and ran over to the cell window at head height, peering out from between the bars to the world outside. It was indeed a city and he was in a perfect position to view the Town Square, and the giant wooden gallows that stood in the middle of it. Someone was about to get hung.

Where was he? Where had the Master left him? Was this the medieval period? He was suddenly panicked, only able to watch from his cell as a man was led forcefully out from the opposite side of the square, dragged to the gallows by two guards either side of him. He was of average size, brown hair, blue eyes, screaming for mercy and his freedom.

"Please, I'm innocent! I didn't do anything, I swear! Please!"

His head was placed in the noose, which was duly tightened around his neck.

"This Gallifreyan has been tried and found guilty of conspiracy to free the high-security prisoner of the Royal Prison known as the Doctor. This is a severe crime that carries the punishment of death. Has the accused anything to say?"

"I didn't do it!" he yelled, "I swear I would never free him, please! This is my last body!"

"Then let justice be done." The lever to the trapdoor below the man's feet was pulled. The Doctor turned away, unable to watch what happened next.

Had someone just been executed because of him? The man has said 'Gallifreyan'…

"Enjoy the show, Doctor?"

The Doctor looked up to meet the gaze of the Master for once not flanked by guards, still hosted in Rory's body. The Doctor ran forward to the bars of the cell, teeth gritted.

"What is this place, Koschei? Why did that man die?"

"He died because I wanted you to see what will eventually happen to you and your regenerationless body."

"So he was entirely innocent," the Doctor surmised. "You framed him just to show off. What kind of empire is this?!"

"It's been three months since we were on that ship, Doctor, and in that time I've constructed a new, gleaming Time Lord empire on a brand new planet. I call her Gallifrey II. _This _is the Final Experiment."

"So that was what those test tube babies were. You were growing new Gallifreyans from mine and my daughter's Time Lord energy…"

"Poor creatures only have one regeneration each, but that will evolve. Every one of those Gallifreyans out there lives because of you, Doctor. And the ironic thing? You're public enemy number one." The Master gave his terribly familiar smile again, so wrong on Rory's face. "Your trial starts tomorrow. If found guilty – or rather _when_ found guilty – you'll be executed in the same way. No regenerations, no coming back. No human friends to come and save you this time. Then with a new pure-blooded Time Lord empire, we can grow in technology and numbers and take our revenge on the Daleks."

"You don't seriously think you're gonna win against the Daleks with a couple of two-bodied Gallifreyans equipped with sticks?" the Doctor challenged again, "and how can you be obsessed with having a pure-blood Time Lord empire when none of those people out there are more than half-Gallifreyan? You forget, Koschei. I'm half-human. This is absolutely appalling. It's sickening you could do anything like this. You've taken the respected legend of the Time Lords and turned it into a joke!"

"Enough!" the Master commanded, but the Doctor was on a roll.

"The Time Lords were a mighty civilisation, standing tall and proud above the planets of the Universe and watching over it. They hated chaos! They hated change! So now you're deciding that you want to rule a new race of force-grown cells within a body that's only a quarter Time Lord in a fascist dictatorship! You know as well as I do, Koschei, Rassilon would be _turning in his grave!_ Really, the Time Lords were better left dead! Instead you choose to destroy my life in order to bring back what's meant to stay dead!"

The Master simply turned and walked away.

"You know I'm right, Koschei! Let my son go and forget this sadistic dream!"

The door of the dungeon slammed shut.

* * *

"Okay, how about… Abi?"

Rose looked down at the baby girl in her arms, who was looking up at her with deep brown eyes and a smile on her face. Rose shook her head. "Nah, she's not an Abi."

"What about… Rachel?" Jack tried next. Rose looked back down at the baby girl, but shook her head again.

"Nope, not a Rachel."

"Jenny?"

"…Hmm, I dunno…" Rose began, but was interrupted by Zoë tugging on her trousers.

"Mummy, Uncle Jack, come look!"

"What is it, honey?" Rose asked as Zoë took both Jack and Rose's hands, pulling them onto their feet. "You too, granny!" the latter was to Jackie who got to her feet to follow her granddaughter obediently through Howard's flat. The girl took them straight into the TARDIS, pulling them over to the chair and sitting Rose down. Lottie was standing next to the console, grinning from ear to ear.

"What you girls been up to?" Jackie asked, readjusting baby Jack in her grip as Lottie and Zoë looked at each other, both grinning stupidly.

"We wanna go find Daddy," Lottie announced, Zoë nodding beside her with Drunky tucked under her arm. Rose looked to the floor, dejected.

"But we can't go and find him, we don't know where he is or how to fly the TARDIS."

Lottie and Zoë exchanged another grin.

"That's where you're wrong mummy," Zoë said, before looking at Lottie.

"For ages and ages we watched daddy…" Lottie looked at Zoë.

"When he was flying the TARDIS…" Zoë looked at Lottie.

"So we remembered what buttons he pressed 'n stuff…" Lottie looked at Zoë.

"Then we worked out what order they went in…"

"So we could fly the TARDIS like Daddy!" They both finished off together, still grinning stupidly.

Jack couldn't help but grin with the pair. "D'you know where he is?"

"That's easy," declared Lottie, nudging her sister standing next to her. Zoë nodded, turning around to reach up to the console and pressing several random buttons.

"Zoë's got this connection with Daddy, see?" Lottie was saying as they watched the other girl type in a sequence of random Gallifreyan symbols onto the monitor. "But it's all weird."

"I can hear him but he can't hear me," Zoë surmised as she drew back from the monitor, and instantly a hologram flash up around them, displaying a Galaxy of planets. Zoë walked over to a mid-sized planet close to Captain Jack's head and pointed at it. "He's there. But the drums are here. Koschei's got him bad, this time."

"Koschei…" Rose repeated, confused. "Who's Koschei?"

"The Master."

"The Master?" Jack echoed. Zoë nodded as the hologram disappeared. "Master of what?"

"Everything."

"Who is he?"

"He's a bad Time Lord, is the Master. He's evil. Daddy's always stopped him but this time…" she trailed off, turning back around to the console.

Jack was frowning. "The Doctor, the Master. Man, Time Lords sure named their kids weird."

"Don't be stupid," Rose suddenly interrupted in a huff. "'Course it's not their real names. The Doctor isn't his real name. He chose it."

"Oh, and I suppose you know his real name do you?" Jack challenged, but was more than startled when Rose nodded.

"He told me it the day we got married. Some kind of Time Lord pledge or somethin'."

"Wow, really? What is it?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I can't tell you that!"

"But that's not fair!" Jack moaned loudly. "Why not?"

"People can use his name against him; like use it to bring about the end of the Universe."

"Oh right, well that's realistic." Jack folded his arms like a sulky teenager. "Anyway, I thought all the Time Lords were dead?"

Zoë was shaking her head, inputting a destination setting with Lottie's help. "Koschei beened trapped inside daddy's TARDIS since before the War. When the TARDIS went wrong he gotted out and went into daddy. Daddy didn't know. Carried him 'round in his head for ages. Then Koschei gotted out… now he's got daddy bad."

The TARDIS jolted, suddenly flying off through the vortex – startling its unaware passengers more than anything else. Rose steadied herself, sitting up more in the chair.

"Zoë, d'you know anything else about the Master? What's he got planned?"

Zoë nodded again, turning around to face the three adults and two babies. "Long story," she said, "but long night."

She began to tell them everything.

* * *

The courtroom was, surprisingly, a proper courtroom to the Doctor's eyes. There were the Jury, the Judge's chair at the moment vacant as the Doctor was taken with bound hands to the standby two guards. There were instant mutters from the public gallery; evil glances aimed in his direction. He hadn't really expected much else in all honesty – but it hurt him, just a little bit, that his own race saw him as a renegade whose life was as worthless as the mud on the ground.

Suddenly the court hushed as the door across the room opened and the Master entered, dressed in a white wig and red cape. He took the Judge's seat, picking up the gavel and whacking the wooden plate a few times.

"Order! Order!" he said pointlessly, smiling broadly. "Wow, I've always wanted to do that." He looked up at the Doctor, maintaining his smile before he suddenly became confused, looking around the courtroom with searching eyes.

"Hmm. Why isn't there a lawyer for the defence?" he asked innocently. The Doctor didn't answer. He didn't need to. The Master had a punch line on the way. "Oh that's right!" the Master continued, visually struggling not to laugh. "You haven't got one!"

The Doctor remained silent, his eyes dropping to the floor. The Master was still smiling.

"The defendant stands accused of murder on a massive scale, the exact count is not known, but in this particular instance we'll just mention the estimated three billion Gallifreyans in the Citadel alone that died at his hand."

The public gallery was a chorus of gasps.

The Master whacked his wooden plate again. "Order! Now then, we haven't found if he's guilty yet. Lawyer for the prosecution, would you care to take precedence?"

Bizarrely, the Master got up out of the Judge's seat, losing the cape and wig as he walked down onto the floor. He bowed to the now empty Judge's seat courteously.

"Why, thank you my Lord," he said, before turning to look at the Doctor with that smile. "Were you the last man standing on Arcadia?" the Master asked.

The Doctor stared at him. "Yes," he began. "But..."

The Master ignored him. "Did you, in truth, hold the Keys of Rassilon?"

"Yes, but..."

"And those Keys allow the holder alone to open the Eye of Harmony at the heart of Gallifrey?"

"Yes, but..."

"And that opening the Eye of Harmony causes the planet to be sucked through it and destroy the Temporal Gateway between dimensions?"

"Yes, but..."

"And every Gallifreyan in existence was on Gallifrey at the time? From the eldest right down to those still unborn?"

The Doctor swallowed. "Yes, including my own..."

"And there you have it, my lord Judge, which is also me," he grinned to the gallery of faces watching the proceedings. "This man has admitted the particulars of the crime. And now for my final question; did you do it?"

He already knew the answer. But he had to hear it from the Doctor's own lips...

The Doctor looked down at the floor, his eyes suddenly heavy with guilt. He wasn't about to deny it. How could he deny it? He knew his own crimes… He _deserved_ execution. He _deserved_ to die for what he'd done…

"Yes," he suddenly announced, still looking down at his bound hands as the jury gasped on cue. "I did it. I did it all. I plead guilty."

"Well, well, well," the Master was saying, his grin now spread from ear to ear. He climbed back up to sit in the Judge's seat, redressing in the cape and wig as he again took up the wooden gavel. "Well, you've heard it all, jury. Now what's your verdict?"

It didn't even need discussion.

"We find the defendant guilty, my Lord."

"Excellent!" the Master exclaimed. "Well, I guess that wraps up proceedings, and we've got ourselves a lovely public execution. Do what you like with him until the hanging. We'll schedule it for the day after tomorrow; still need to clear up the mess of the last one."

The Doctor didn't even look at the Master as he was marched from the courtroom, straight back to the cells. The Master was watching _him_ however, and was grinning every moment.

"Now," he announced to the crowd as the Doctor disappeared through the far door. "Anyone for a spot of lunch?"

"Here, here!" the court declared.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, drum roll please! I'm gonna do the wellposh 'Coming Soon' things that rosie-bec does.

_Chapter 27 – The Last Stand_

"_No!" The Doctor lunged out his hand from between the bars, managing to catch one of the guards and yank him back from Rose, hooking his right arm around the guard's neck to immobilise him._

_But two were still on Rose. She struggled but one held her firmly in place whilst the other drew back her cloak, taking the baby out of her grip. She screamed, lashing out but succeeding in nothing as seconds later the Master held the baby girl in both arms, making appropriate 'goo' and 'gaa' sounds. She continued to cry._

"_Aww, y'know, you look just like your daddy!" the Master said to the girl, genuinely smiling. "Too bad he's dying tomorrow. You've got your mummy's eyes. Too bad she's dying too. Then you got no parents, little one. What you gonna do then? Do you want to die too?"_

**_Coming Soon_**

_The Doctor could only watch, helpless as the lever was pulled and suddenly there was nothing beneath his feet. Pain shot through his neck as the noose tightened, and it was only a split second before the entire world around him faded into nothing._

Isn't 'Coming Soon' totally PRO?! Huh? HUH? HUH?! :D


	27. The Last Stand

**A/N: **In reply to **Ida**,according to my research and very clever Doctor-qualified (I think) proofreader a breech birth from the second twin born is predisposed, not 100 percent guaranteed. Besides, this isn't a totally human birth so I fall back on the old excuse that he's an alien and it's different. I also fall onto the excuse that the chapter was absolute HELL to write anyway so although I would've liked to have had a twist such as a breech birth, it was hard enough to write a normal birth as it was.

Otherwise, thank you for your _well-structured, _ _encouraging _and _critical _review. I use italics coz it's the closest I can get to sarcasm… :D J/k! Well, sort of.

* * *

Chapter 27 – The Last Stand

The Doctor was going to die.

Well, that kind of sucked.

He'd sometimes envisioned how he would ultimately die – maybe by the Daleks, maybe in a massive explosion. He thought he could die as the Valeyard way back in his Sixth life. He'd thought he was going to die in the Time War; he _should've_ died. But something had saved him that night, something far more powerful than the Daleks and the Time Lords combined.

But now death had arrived, he found he wasn't ready for it. Ask him four years ago if he'd be prepared to die and he would've said yes without hesitation – but now he had a family, he had Rose, Rory, Lottie, Zoë, baby Jack, his baby girl, Captain Jack, Jill, Mickey, Jackie, Howard… everyone that had helped him dig himself out of the rut. He wasn't ready to die now. He still had a good few regenerations left… or at least, he'd _thought_ he had a good few regenerations left.

Even one lifetime? That would do him. One lifetime was enough, enough to stay with Rose and die in peace with her, knowing his children would carrying on the heritage of Time Lord genes.

But he didn't even have that lifetime anymore.

And it sucked.

He tore himself away from his thoughts, opening his eyes to look out of the cell window to the world outside. It was dawn. This time tomorrow he would be having the noose tightened around his neck, the lever just about to be pulled…

He closed his eyes again, batting away the thoughts. Oh yes, he was scared. He was terrified. And so, so alone. He'd never even had a chance to say goodbye to his family… But he deserved it. His past had finally caught up with him. He had killed his own kind, and finally he was paying the price.

"Doctor?" suddenly came a hiss from somewhere across the cell, and the Doctor opened his eyes once more to find himself staring at a person on the other side of the bars, dressed in a black cloak with their face shielded from view. "Doctor, it's me! It's Rose!"

"Rose?!" he almost choked, shocked. He launched himself onto his feet, running across the cell and putting his face up against the bars. The black cloak over the person's head was dropped, and he could see it was definitely Rose.

A smile broke out on both their faces as she leant forward to kiss him through the bars, before pulling back and drawing back her cloak to reveal a sleeping baby in her grip.

"Rose what're you doing here?" the Doctor demanded angrily, reaching out to his baby girl to touch her cheek. "If he catches you…"

"I know I'm sorry, I had to, Doctor. She's been cryin' and cryin'…"

"Rose, please, you have to get out of here…"

"I'm not leavin' without you," she replied simply, fishing the Sonic Screwdriver from out her pocket and holding it up. "I'm not gonna let you die. You don't deserve to be executed, not after everythin' you've done."

The Doctor seemed confused. "Wait, how'd you know about…?"

"Zoë told us. She's told us everything. I'm not lettin' you die to the Master." She crossed over to the cell door, giving it a buzz.

"Going somewhere?" a voice suddenly interrupted and Rose and the Doctor both span around to meet the Master, supported by more guards.

"Master!" Rose walked forward towards him, the baby girl covered up with her cloak. "Let them go!"

"Or what?" the Master said as he folded his arms, eyes slowly drifting downwards from her face to her cloak…

"Master, please. If you let both the Doctor and Rory go we'll promise to never come back to this planet ever again. Right, Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded. "Right. You can do whatever you want with your Time Lord Empire, Koschei. You'll never hear from me again."

Rose continued, "I have children and they need their father…"

"What, like the one you're hiding under your cloak?" the Master said, gesturing to Rose.

"I don't have a baby under my cloak," Rose said instantly in an innocent voice.

"Well what's that sound?"

"What sound?"

"That crying-baby sound."

"That's my stomach!" the Doctor claimed, patting his tummy. "Haven't eaten in a while. Plays up on me."

"Open your cloak then," the Master commanded. Rose looked incredulous.

"Hey, I'm naked under here! I'm not flashin' you!"

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Well, no, but I was kinda hopin' you were," Rose said with a shrug. The Master rolled his eyes, and instantly the guards advanced.

"No!" The Doctor lunged out his hand from between the bars, managing to catch one of the guards and yank him back from Rose, hooking his right arm around the guard's neck to immobilise him.

But two were still on Rose. She struggled but one held her firmly in place whilst the other drew back her cloak, taking the baby out of her grip. She screamed, lashing out but succeeding in nothing as seconds later the Master held the baby girl in both arms, making appropriate 'goo' and 'gaa' sounds. She continued to cry.

"Aww, y'know, you look just like your daddy!" the Master said to the girl, genuinely smiling. "Too bad he's dying tomorrow. You've got your mummy's eyes. Too bad she's dying too. Then you got no parents, little one. What you gonna do then? Do you want to die too?"

"Koschei, please…" The Doctor let go of the guard, moving up the cell to be closer to the Master. "Please let them go. Don't hurt her. Don't hurt either of them. Please."

"You're actually begging me?" The Master was amused. "Say it again."

"Master," the Doctor said softly, dropping to both knees. "Please. Please let them go. I'm the one dying, not them. I'll do anything. Just don't hurt either of them."

"Wow, I'm touched. That was so beautiful, I think I just might cry. For that, I'll grant you one last wish. What would you like?"

The Doctor paused for a moment, giving Rose a glance before looking back at the Master.

"I want to spend my last night with my family, who will then be allowed to walk free from this planet unscathed."

The Master paused, before nodding. "Of course. Though, I can't guarantee your son will be walking free tomorrow… But the rest of them will be allowed to go. Rassilon's pledge." He held up his hand in a special sign, to which the Doctor – after a moment's hesitation – returned. The guards let go of Rose and the Master stepped forward, handing the girl carefully back to Rose. "So I'll see you all tonight, about 7:00pm?"

Rose looked at the Doctor, who nodded. No one broke Rassilon's Pledge. It was the ultimate promise. To break it was unheard of, and not even the Master would dare to test the superstition.

Rose reached up to kiss him again through the bars, before she let herself be led away.

* * *

"It's a trick, Rose. It's a damn trick," Jack was saying over and over again as they all sat in the Master's Mansion, in the most posh section he had to offer.

Rose shook her head, "He and the Doctor did this pledge thing, Rassilon or somethin', the Doctor trusted him so I do too," she answered, brushing Lottie's hair thoroughly with her hairbrush. "Gonna look your best for daddy, aren't you honey?"

Lottie nodded as Rose finished and put the hairbrush back on the side. They only had to wait a matter of seconds before the door to the room opened and the Master entered, followed by the Doctor and three guards.

"Well, here he is as promised," the Master announced, and even though they'd been warned the others found it so surreal that the words came from Rory's mouth. "Bathroom's that door there…" He pointed to the right. "Bedrooms over there." He pointed to the left. "But y'know, try to keep the sheets clean."

The guard on the Doctor's left grabbed hold of his hands, unlocking his wrists from the metal cuffs with a turn of a key. Lottie and Zoë instantly ran forward as he dropped to his knees, engulfing them both in a huge hug.

"We missed you daddy," Lottie said quietly into his chest as he kissed her forehead, holding them both tightly to him.

"I missed you both too," he replied softly, also kissing Zoë. It was bringing tears to his eyes. They wouldn't have a father to speak of by this time tomorrow. They'd never even remember his face – they were too young.

He heard people moving behind him, so he quickly turned and called out, "Koschei?" The Master turned to face him. "Thank you."

The Master nodded, his look lingering for a moment before he turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, so I lost the 'Coming Soon'… but hey.

_Chapter 28 – Doomsday?_

"_What time is it?" she asked._

"_About 5:51am," he replied, putting the last few finishing touches on his hair. "And ten seconds."_

_There was an ensuing silence as Rose got out of bed, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his chest. She didn't care that if the Master came in right now he'd see her completely naked. The Doctor breathed a sigh, turning to hold her close. Eight minutes, forty seconds, and counting._


	28. The Day The Doctor Died

**A/N: **Whups, my finger slipped.

And yeah, I've decided for sure that this is the last Ramble. So I can kill WHOEVER I WANT.

* * *

Chapter 28 – The Day The Doctor Died

"But she needs a name!" Jack was protesting, Jackie holding the unnamed baby girl in her arms with the newborn Jack.

"No, Jack! Just no!" The Doctor sighed, fingers on either side of the bridge of his nose.

"It's a good name!"

"Jack, for the last time, we are _not _calling her Xena! Rose? Rose, support me on this!"

Rose pursed her lips, considering. _"Well…"_

"Wait!" Jack said suddenly, finger in the air. "What was it we promised about the namin' when Jill and Rose first got pregnant?"

"That you…" the Doctor trailed off as he realised the exact words that had been said. "Oh great."

"I said 'if you name mine, I'll name yours'. That doesn't imply a _single _child! I have full namin' rights over her. Rose?" He turned to the woman, who was considering. She had the final say. The Doctor was staring at her, puppy expression currently working overtime.

She looked between them both. "Y'know, Jack is kinda right…"

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, delighted. "You're callin' her Xena! Unless of course you'd prefer Gabrielle or Callisto…"

The Doctor sighed. "I'll haunt you."

Everyone laughed, but right now the words cut like razor blades. They had talked all night. It was mostly reminiscing about past adventures and what they'd done together, but they steered clear of the inevitability still to come. The Doctor was dying tomorrow. There was nothing any of them could do.

In the following silence, the clock struck midnight.

"I'll save you," Jack said quietly as he watched little Lottie laid in her father's arms, sound asleep. "I'll save you, Doc."

The Doctor didn't even need to dismiss this verbally. They all knew there was nothing they could do. He stroked back his daughter's hair absently for a moment before glancing up at the clock by the door, outside of which he knew guards were on patrol. No escape.

"Bedtime," he announced to the crowd. No one replied as gazes swivelled down to meet the floor. "New day tomorrow."

That was when the tears arrived.

Jackie had been desperately holding back the tears all night but even she couldn't stop them as she watched the Doctor kiss Lottie good night for the last time.

"Look after them?" the Doctor asked Jack and he nodded, taking the sleeping Lottie into both arms. Zoë was still awake, tears in her eyes as she tugged on her father's trousers.

"I love you, Daddy," she whispered, voice trembling. The Doctor smiled briefly at her, dropping to his knees to hold her tightly for the last time.

"I love you too. Be good now," he whispered, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. She nodded. She knew what was going to happen. She had always known it. "Look after Drunky, eh?"

Zoë nodded, holding the bear closer to her heart. The Doctor turned next to an extremely tearful Jackie with a baby in each arm, both of who were crying quietly.

"Have a great life, both of you," he said to his newborn son and daughter, kissing them both farewell. They both fell silent, staring up at him with sad brown eyes. They seemed to already know, just like their sister. "I'll be watching you."

Jackie blubbered all over him as he said good bye to her, making his shirt damp. Words were not exchanged – they didn't need to be. Soon it was just him and Rose left in the room, and finally the Doctor turned to his wife.

"Well, I guess this is it, then, I have no regenerations, no way of coming back," he said with a shrug, grinning.

If she had the heart to slap him, she would've. Instead she smiled seductively at him, taking his hand and leading him to the door of the bedroom. "Where we going?" the Doctor asked, genuinely puzzled. Rose sighed, exasperated. Men could completely miss the point. She closed the bedroom door behind him, flicking on the light switch to reveal possibly the biggest bed he'd seen in his entire life – and that was saying something. He was so intent on staring at the bed that he completely missed Rose's clothes coming off right in front of him. As a result when he looked up, he almost fell over in surprise. Rose rolled her eyes, moving forward to pull his shirt over his head.

"We've got six hours, and a bed. Let's make it count."

The Doctor couldn't agree more.

* * *

"D'you remember it?" the Doctor was saying, playing absently with her hair. "Charles Dickens? Ghosts at Christmas?"

"Oh yeah!" Rose exclaimed with a grin. "And then Slitheen! I still can't believe I went in Downin' Street."

"Your mother slapped me," the Doctor recalled in a voice on the edge of terror, "it hurt."

"You're such a girl!" Rose giggled as she turned over, burying her head in his chest.

"You try getting hit by a hundred pound sledge hammer on the side of the face!" the Doctor defended, "I'm surprised it didn't break my jaw bone."

"Just 'cause you're dyin' tomorrow doesn't mean you can slag off my mum y'know," Rose said with a smile before she stopped, and realised what she'd said. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes just thinking about the fact that in a few hours he would no longer be alive. The Doctor turned his head to look at her, watching the tears slowly run down her face.

"Hey," he said gently, pulling her closer and pulling the cover up over them. "It's all right. I'm ready for it now. I've had these last few precious hours with you, our kids and our friends; that's a thing that not many people get to do in my position. We got to talk about old friends, what we did, places we've gone. The happiest day of my life has been the day before I died. Kinda ironic, eh?"

More tears slid down her face as she nodded, biting her lip.

"Thank you, Rose. Thank you for turning my life around the way you did. I don't know what I would've become if I hadn't met you – I don't even want to imagine it. I know that when I do die tomorrow I've left everything safe in your hands."

"But…" Rose began, but the Doctor cut over her.

"Please Rose, please don't wallow in my death for years and years. I don't want it to go that way. Celebrate it. Please. Everything I've ever stood for has been about bringing life and healing and I don't want you to forget that."

"But why should you have to die…" she whimpered quietly. "After all the good you've done. All the people you've saved. You don't deserve this."

He didn't say anything in reply to that. The guilt spoke for itself. He kissed her again before readjusting his arms around her, watching her slowly drift off into sleep. He wouldn't sleep tonight. He'd watch her sleeping for his last few hours, and he'd treasure every second.

* * *

When Rose woke up, the bed was vacant.

In shock she sat up, looking around the room… but to her immense relief she saw him standing in front of the mirror, readjusting his tie. She'd brought him fresh clothes the night before – there was no sense in him dying in rags. The Master had taken the Sonic Screwdriver, however. Last chance. Gone.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"About 5:51am," he replied, putting the last few finishing touches on his hair. "And ten seconds."

There was an ensuing silence as Rose got out of bed, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his chest. She didn't care that if the Master came in right now he'd see her completely naked. The Doctor breathed a sigh, turning to hold her close. Eight minutes, forty seconds, and counting.

"Please Doctor," she begged into him, "please… let's runaway… let's escape…"

He smiled gently. "You know that's not possible Rose."

"Doctor," a voice suddenly said from outside the room; the Master.

"Give us a sec," the Doctor called back, kissing Rose's hair. "Get dressed."

She nodded, forcing back the tears once more. When she was dressed he took her hand, leading her out of the door to come face to face with the Master and his expected platoon of guards. He gave the Doctor a smile.

"Someone got lucky," he said, raising an eyebrow. The Doctor turned and kissed Rose again before the guards grabbed both his arms, pulling him forcedly away from her.

"No! Doctor!" Rose cried out as she tried to reach out to him, but the guards were holding her back too. Tears flooded her face now, grief of the inevitable setting in. The Doctor tried to reach out to her but it was far, _far_ too late as he was dragged back through the door.

"Rose!" he yelled desperately.

"NO! DOCTOR!" she screamed again, louder, trying desperately to pull away from the guards but the grip was too strong.

"ROSE! I LOVE YOU!"

"DOCTOR!"

"ROSE!!"

"DOCTOR!!"

"ROSE!!"

Then the calls faded away to nothing.

* * *

The noose was put around his neck, and for once in his life the Doctor was truly terrified. His eyes searched the crowd for his friends, seeing Jack, Jackie, Lottie and Zoë restrained by guards over the other side of the square, Rose being dragged kicking and screaming by more guards, next to the rest of his family. There was nothing they could do. There was nothing _anyone _could do.

This was it. He was going to die. It seemed a pathetic way to die, after everything he'd done. Death by one of the most human ways possible – hanging. If the drop didn't break his neck then his respiratory bypass wouldn't hold on for more than thirty seconds with the pressure.

"Does the condemned have anything to say?"

The Doctor shook his head. Let it be done with.

"Then let justice be done," the executioner said, hands resting on the lever to pull the trapdoor from beneath the Doctor.

Nanoseconds felt like hours.

The Doctor could only watch, helpless as the lever was pulled and suddenly there was nothing beneath his feet. Pain shot through his neck as the noose tightened, and it was only a split second before the entire world around him faded into nothing.

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 29 – Unnamed_

_Even though she didn't want to see the sight for herself Rose's head automatically looked up at the gallows, her eyes fixing on the body hanging suspended by the rope around the neck, motionless. He was dead. Her husband was dead. The Doctor was dead._

_She felt numb. Her brain was numb. Her body was numb. She was vaguely aware of her mother taking the two children from her grasp, herding them swiftly back to the TARDIS. She was vaguely aware of the guards' grip on her, a single pull of her arm and she was free. She screamed as she ran towards him and him only, pushing through the crowd with ease._


	29. Hotline To God

**A/N: **Wow, this is the funnest Ramble I ever wrote!

* * *

Chapter 29 – Hotline To God

Just as the lever was pulled, Rose broke free from the guard's grip and she grabbed Lottie and Zoë tightly, turning their heads into her to stop them from seeing their father's death. Cheers erupted from the crowd in the seconds that followed, Rose covering her children's ears as Jack screamed blaspheme across the square, accusing all of the Gallifreyans of cold-blooded murder. Even though she didn't want to see the sight for herself Rose's head automatically looked up at the gallows, her eyes fixing on the body hanging suspended by the rope around the neck, motionless. He was dead. Her husband was dead. The Doctor was _dead._

She felt numb. Her brain was numb. Her body was numb. She was vaguely aware of her mother taking the two children from her grasp, herding them swiftly back to the TARDIS. She was vaguely aware of the guards' grip on her, a single pull of her arm and she was free. She screamed as she ran towards him and him only, pushing through the crowd with ease.

Suddenly her vision flashed completely white, a bright light temporarily blinding the entire gathering. She cried out in shock as did everyone else, staggering back a few paces before forcing her eyes open to try and find the source.

_ You FOOLS!_

The entire crowd gasped, crying out in fear as they continued to whirl around blindly, trying to find the cause of the grand, booming voice. The sky darkened and suddenly it was raining, lightning scratching across the sky with a thunderous roar when it had been the dawn of a summer day but two seconds ago.

_ I am Rassilon, the Great Time Lord, and I order this execution to cease!_

Rose was the only one watching the Doctor as suddenly the trapdoor slammed shut to complete the floor once more, the rope hanging him spontaneously burning through of its own accord. Within seconds the Doctor had hit the floor, unmoving, but who knew if he was still alive or not?

Jack had since broken free of the guards' grip, pushing his way through the crowd to get to the highest point in the square – a watchtower. He knew Rose would be headed there.

"Gods have mercy on us!" someone yelled from the crowd as they all whimpered in fear. A few turned around to look at the executed man – but he'd vanished.

_I hope, for your sakes, the Doctor lives._

Rose dragged the limp Doctor through the crowd and to the steps leading to a watchtower, hoping and praying that the drop hadn't broken his neck. He was heavy in her arms. They made their way up the steps, Jack appearing at the top as he grabbed the Doctor in both arms, running with him to the top of the watchtower.

He set the Time Lord down on the floor, the Doctor's head lolling on the stone as Rose grabbed hold of what remained of the noose and pulled it free over his head.

"Wake up, Doc, wake up!" Jack hissed, aligning his head to his spine before checking for neck injury. Rose was busy checking vital signs, seconds passing before a huge grin spread onto her face.

"He's alive!" she cried with joy, pressing a kiss to his lips. "He's alive, he's alive… Wake up, Doctor!"

He coughed and choked; a line of bruising was already forming around his throat where the noose had been placed.

"Doctor breathe, that's it, you're okay…" Jack was saying as Rose kissed the Time Lord again, this time for joy. She drew back, looking up at Jack and smiling broadly.

"You did it, you saved his life…" she said, almost bursting into tears as she leant forward and hugged him tightly. "How the hell did you start the storm?"

He was staring at her. "That wasn't me, Rose."

Rose frowned in confusion. "What? But…"

"I was caught up with the Master's groupie. I thought maybe you had somethin' to do with it."

"No…" Rose's eyes slowly averted to the sky. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"You're not suggestin'…" he looked up too as Rose nodded. The Doctor's coughing broke the tense pause that followed and Rose's attention had snapped back to him in an instant, cupping his cheek as his eyes flickered open.

"Am I dead?" he asked in a dazed voice before he began to cough once more. Rose had tears of relief cascading down her face.

"No, thank Go…" she stopped herself just in time, glancing briefly up at the sky and correcting herself: "…thank Rassilon."

The entire crowd was in an uproar, at a loss for what had just happened. Jack got to his feet, looking over the wall at the crowds below. There stood the Master in Rory's body on top of the gallows, looking around frantically for an answer. Jack quickly hoisted the semi-conscious Doctor onto his feet, taking his entire weight with his head resting against Jack's shoulder as he addressed the crowd below.

"Gallifreyans!" he cried over the chaos, and instantly everyone fell silent and stared up at him in surprise, the Master included.

"The traitor Time Lord and his friend!" the Master bellowed, raising his hand to point up at Jack and the Doctor. "Betrayer of our kind!" But none of the crowd were reacting to his claims.

"Yeah, yeah, just think about it, Master!" Jack yelled back, hearing Rose get up into her feet next to him to look down at the crowd. "Now, Gallifreyans, my name's Captain Jack Harkness and I'm a human, as is Rose here…" – he gestured to the girl in question – "… now, I don't know much about your species but what I _do_ know is that the Great Time Lord Rassilon has just saved the life of the Time Lord I'm holdin'. Is that not true?"

There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd. Jack repositioned his grip on the Doctor, seeing the Master staring at them in disbelief.

"So why would the Great Time Lord Rassilon take the time and effort to save the life of a man who is apparently a traitor to your species? He just wouldn't bother."

There were more murmurs of agreement.

"No!" the Master screamed back, uncharacteristically desperate. "That's not true! The friend of the traitor is trying to warp our minds!"

"As I see it," Jack carried on, trying in vain to hide his satisfied grin, knowing that he'd already won. "That man down there is _not _a Time Lord as great as Rassilon was, and he's got no authority to go about executin' people. He's stolen the body of this Time Lord's son and is tryin' to manipulate the Gallifreyans into a race of evil people; tryin' to take over the Universe."

"It's not the Master we should be following!" cried someone from the crowd, "it's the Doctor we must follow!"

"Doctor!" one chanted, and suddenly everyone was chanting the name with him, "DOCTOR! DOCTOR! DOCTOR! DOCTOR! DOCTOR!"

"No! That's not true! He's lying, he's…" the Master was backing away from the crowd, trying to escape back to the safety of his guards, but even they had turned on him.

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR! DOCTOR!"

He had nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. The Gallifreyans were all advancing towards him menacingly, looking just about ready to rip him apart. He had no choice…

The Master closed his eyes, drawing his essence out of the body of Rory Alexis Sigma-Tyler. The Time Lord boy collapsed to the floor unconscious as a black cloud flew up into the air, hovering for a moment above the watching crowd before it flew off in a gust of wind. Then cheers erupted from the crowd, turning back to look at Jack still holding the Doctor in both arms.

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" they chanted together, louder than ever.

Jack was grinning from ear to ear, largely resembling the Cheshire Cat. He turned to Rose to share the joy, but she'd already disappeared back down the steps and pushed her way forcefully through the crowd, climbing onto the gallows to get to her son.

"Rory can you hear me? Rory?" she was asking anxiously, but he didn't respond. She looked up at the crowd as she cradled his body protectively. "Someone help us get them to the TARDIS!" she cried, gesturing to her son and husband. "Please!"

* * *

When Rose entered the TARDIS Infirmary that afternoon she found the Doctor sat up on the scanner table, Jack in a chair next to him. He had a hand on his neck, now covered with a ridiculously long multicoloured scarf that trailed along the floor. Rose could only just see the neck support hidden beneath the material. She bounced over to them, interrupting the conversation as she jumped to sit on the scanner table beside the Doctor.

"Hey, Frosty," she greeted, eyeing his scarf. He gave a half-smile.

"How's Jack and…" He sighed loudly. "…Xena?"

"Y'know, if you really didn't want her to be named Xena you should've said somethin'!" Jack said with a hearty smile. The Doctor gave him one of his most evil glares. "Fine, fine! You wanna call her Yuna, you can call her Yuna!"

"Yuna," the Doctor repeated with a stare of disbelief. "So, Xena or Yuna, those are my only choices?"

"Well unless you wanna call her…"

Rose cleared her throat, feeling the need to cut in. "They're fine, sleepin' off their last feed." She reached up to kiss the Doctor's cheek.

"I was just tellin' the Doc about what saved him," Jack informed Rose. "About Rassilon."

"Strange thing is, I can believe it," the Doctor nodded slowly as he said the words, contemplating. "I seemed to have been saved out of a fair few tight spots in the past few years, apparently with no explanation." He paused for a moment, before suddenly frowning and looking at them both again. "What happened in the lift after Rose gave birth?"

Jack and Rose exchanged a glance.

"You were shinin' with this bright white light," Rose finally answered. "Floatin' around… makin' people pass out and stuff."

"Sounds like a godly act to me. I can believe it. But why would he bother saving me?"

"'Cause you were the last Time Lord?" Jack suggested. "Last Time Lord to rebuild the race."

The Doctor mused on this for a moment. "Well… Could be. And I have a feeling that my survival in the Time War might've had something to do with him as well. By rights I should've been killed with the rest of them, but instead… I lived. Out of the entire population of Gallifreyans in the Universe, billions upon billions of them, I was the one who survived. Why me? I mean, I know me and Rassilon have had our ups and downs in the past but…"

Then came a groan from across the room and all three turned to see Rory sitting up in one of the Infirmary beds, wincing and rubbing his head. Rose was off in an instant, sprinting across the room next to his bed.

"Hi mum," he said with a grin, and she couldn't stop herself from hugging him tightly. He didn't decline.

"How're you feelin'?"

"My heads hurts like hell," he replied as his father and uncle took a seat on the bed beside his mother.

"That'll be the compression, should clear up in a day or two," the Doctor informed him and for the first time Rory looked at his father, and his eyes widened.

"Dad! I had this dream…" but he trailed off as the Doctor smiled gently, pulling down his scarf to reveal the neck support. "…Ah," was the only syllable Rory could come up with. " No dream. I'm sorry."

"What for?" the Doctor asked, genuinely confused. "You were possessed by one of the most ruthless, cruel, devious and hypnotic men ever to roam the cosmos. You didn't have a chance. _I_ didn't have a chance. He freely hurt Jill and kidnapped Zoë in my body without me having a clue about it."

"Is your neck bad?"

The Doctor went to shake his head, but thought better of it. "No, it's just a mild fracture. I'll only be wearing this for a couple of days. But right now…" He got onto his feet, rolling back his shoulders as if squaring himself up for a brave feat. "About time I went and had a word with Rassilon."

* * *

**A/N: **_Chapter 30 – A Chinwag With Rassilon  
_

_The Doctor turned back merely five seconds later to find baby Jack had managed to cover his highchair, hands, front, face and even his __hair in porridge. Jack looked up at him, giggling and grinning._

_ The Doctor reached out to take the bowl back, but with a final scream and a well-placed arm swing from the child the bowl went flying across the room and hit the wall, leaving a splat of porridge before it rebounded off and hit the floor. Baby Jack beamed at the Doctor again._

_ The Doctor stared at him for a moment; sucking it all in before he finally collapsed to his knees, holding his head in his hands. He curled up into a tight ball, rocking back and forth slowly on the floor, finally driven insane._


	30. A Chinwag With Rassilon

**A/N: **A review from **DoubleNatural**: "If you were a cake, your main ingredient would be PURE EVIL XD" Lmao!! (puts as MSN screenname) Ha, brilliant :D

I can now officially confirm that this Ramble is 34 chapters long. It's also the last Ramble. Make the most of it!

* * *

Chapter 30 – A Chinwag With Rassilon

"Well, this is it."

The Doctor had taken Rose and Jack to a much deeper part of the TARDIS than either of them had felt inclined to go in. It was so deep there were some parts of the corridor covered with vines, at times making it seem like they were in a jungle rather than the TARDIS. Now they stood at the end of a stupidly long corridor, a giant oaken double-door towering over them.

"It's a bit scary," Rose voiced aloud. The Doctor shot her a smile.

"It's okay. Shrines have a tendency to be a little ominous. I remember the Shrine to the God of the Planet Passque I went to once. If your head wasn't touching the floor by the time the doors had closed your head was automatically sliced off."

Jack and Rose stared at him, a little more than terrified now. He seemed to completely miss their looks and proceeded to rest both hands on the right hand door, grunting as he tried to push it open through the resistance. He groaned as the pressure took a strain on his neck, appreciative of Jack's help when he finally offered it.

The door finally opened, and Jack and Rose quickly looked inside. It was a surprisingly small room considering the size, weight and grandness of the entrance door, but it was a room only lit only by candles. There was an aisle down the middle at least five metres long, the path shown by an elegant red carpet laid on a cold stone floor with candles spaced out at half metre intervals down the edges.

At the end of the aisle was a carved wooden altar, images of which seemed to resemble carvings found in Earth churches, just more modern but ancient at the same time. There was some kind of sash laid on the table surrounded by more candles, and a crown and a rod to either side (old Gallifreyan artefacts or something?) with yet another carving in stone on the wall behind. Rose recognised it as the Seal of Rassilon.

"Wish me luck," the Doctor said happily, shoving his hands into his pockets as he waltzed off into shrine.

Jack and Rose watched from the doorway.

He stopped at the end of the aisle and dropped to his knees onto some well-placed cushions. He stretched out his arms in front of him, palms facing towards the ground before bending at the elbows ninety degrees and adjacent to the ground to layer his right arm on top of his left. He then slid his arms across each other to part, but when his hands met halfway they clutched together like a human prayer. It must've been a special Gallifreyan prayer. Rose had never thought of her Doctor as particularly religious.

Then he started to speak Gallifreyan, a fountain of delightful syllables falling eloquently out of his mouth one after the other. Gallifreyans only seemed to have vowels in their language as each word rolled smoothly into the next – easily the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.

But she couldn't understand the language.

Then the TARDIS translation circuits kicked in, the TARDIS realising that she'd have to change the rules of not translating Gallifreyan for Rose and Jack's sake.

"Rassilon, Great One, may I be allowed to speak with you?" the Doctor requested confidently, eyes fixed to the floor with his hands still clutched in the prayer position. Nothing happened. The Doctor concentrated harder this time. "Rassilon, Great One, may I be allowed to speak with you?" he repeated, but after a ten second silence it became apparent that nothing was going to happen. The Doctor scrunched up his eyes in concentration this time, focusing hard on contacting Rassilon. "Great One…"

Still nothing happened.

The Doctor gritted his teeth hard, eyes still scrunched up as the concentration he gave was upped to the maximum amount. His knuckles were going white, sweat shining on his forehead with the aching in his neck getting worse and worse.

"Rassilon!" he gasped, "speak unto me, please!"

Then a voice boomed, _"Theta Sigma of the Prydonian Chapter descended from the House of Lungbarrow, you may relax, and speak."_ The voice sent shivers down Rose's spine. Although it was gentle and melodical, there was an undercurrent of something she was not sure she liked.

The Doctor visually relaxed, but his eyes were still fixed to the ground. "Rassilon, Oh Great One, it's been a long time since we last talked, but in that time a lot of things have happened. And it's come to my attention that you might be a part of the changes that have been happening around me. May I ask you a few questions?"

"_You may, Child of Gallifrey."_

"On the incident that occurred a while ago when my wife gave birth I was apparently consumed with bright white light, after which I proceeded to render the enemy useless and send my family to safety, before collapsing and waking up with no memory. Was it you who guided me through this?"

"_Yes, it was I."_

"And the same is also true for when me, my friend and my daughter were trapped at the end of a corridor by Torchwood?" the Doctor continued, eyes still fixed to the ground.

"_Yes, Child of Gallifrey."_

"Why, may I ask?"

"_I have foreseen the future and I had to guide you to this point; it was your destiny. It was necessary to take possession of your body in order to ensure your survival. To enable you to arrive to this shrine, at this point in time, I had temporarily become your Guardian."_

"But why me, Lord? I am nothing."

"_Not true, Child of Gallifrey. You have been the most important being in the entirety of the Universe since the day you were born. I have seen this. It has always been your destiny to arrive at this point in time; I have only ensured your safety along the way."_

"I am indebted to your kindness, Lord, but now that we are here, what do you want of me?"

"_He who rules Gallifrey rules the Universe, and you, as the ruler of Gallifrey II, must shape the Time Lord Empire to be the greatest of the Cosmos. I place it upon you, Doctor, to lead the new race of Gallifreyans into a brand new age."_

The Doctor's eyes widened in shock. "Lord Rassilon…" he began, hesitant.

"_Child of Gallifrey, be assured I am aware that it is a heavy burden, but it is one which you must carry. I have watched you grow from a boy to man and I can see the strength you have within you. You and you alone have the ability to lead the Gallifreyans into a brand new age. Will you accept the challenge?"_

The Doctor paused for a moment, before finally nodding."Yes, Lord, I will do it."

"_Good luck, Child of Gallifrey. Farewell."_

The candles stopped flickering and the room went dark. The Doctor remained still for a moment, before looking up, unclasping his hands and getting to his feet. He began to walk backwards towards the door, as if it was rude to turn his back on the shrine. Finally he reached the door and backed through the threshold, Jack heaving the door shut behind him.

For a moment they just stood in silence.

"So," the Doctor began, glancing at each of them in turn as he ran a hand through his hair. "Either of you got any idea how to build an empire?"

* * *

The first thing the Doctor had done was to smash down the gallows.

It had been publicly decided that the current generation would spend their lifetimes trying to build Gallifrey II rather than _live_ on her. The population of Gallifrey II had been barely above 200 and every one of them were willing to help rebuild.

With the original Gallifrey much in mind the Doctor had formed a High Council of random individuals from the Gallifrey II slums, instantly turning beggars into respected individuals over night.

He had decided to combine the human approach to the Gallifreyan approach; building schools within communities so Gallifreyan children could stay with their families until the age of thirteen before being enrolled in the newly constructed Time Academy to become fully-fledged Time Lords. After five months of hard work he'd successfully tutored willing individuals to become teachers in the Academy.

The Doctor had turned the Master's mansion into a hospital where Rory tutored new doctors and nurses to take over the running.

With all the changes, soon the reign of the Master had been forgotten and Gallifrey II had entered a golden age. No poverty. No conflict. No crime. Technological advancement was astounding.

Back in the TARDIS the months had absolutely shot by. They had returned to Earth to fetch Jill a while back, landing just in time for Jack to watch the birth of his daughter (and faint several times during it). Jill had retaken charge over UNIT, severing all links with Torchwood and destroying all files on the Doctor and Jack as criminals before setting off in the TARDIS again with everyone back to Gallifrey II.

The Doctor had been exhausted from it all. Still, at least the foundations had been laid, and all that then remained was to keep the system smoothly running. He had been able to take a step back and admire the empire of Time Lords he'd built with his family's help. The Master had not appeared since the Doctor had been hung, but the Doctor had known he would not stay away forever…

And he wasn't wrong.

* * *

"Fooby," baby Jack said loudly, waving his arms about as the Doctor attempted to feed him his baby breakfast porridge. "Gaka!"

"Fooby gaka indeed," the Doctor said tiredly, slipping the spoon into his son's mouth. "Seriously, go to sleep tonight otherwise this bowl of lovely porridge goes right over your head tomorrow, Jack."

"Dada," Jack continued, "dada Dodda. Luff?"

"Of course I love you Jack – you're my son. But when you constantly scream and scream and scream endlessly _all_ night long without a _single _break of _more _than seven minutes and two seconds, all the anger and agitation builds up and up and up until finally I explode, and whoops… my hand's gonna slip," the Doctor said in a light, bouncy voice, holding up another spoonful for Jack to eat from. "And suddenly all my rules as a parent of not tipping porridge over your own children go out the window and before you know it your granny will have to take you into care because me and your mummy will both be driven completely insane by your _constant screaming." _He set the porridge down on the highchair and turned towards the kitchen sink, washing his hands.

"Neela," baby Jack carried on, picking up the bowl infront of him and tipping it upside-down so the contents spilled out all down his front. He dropped the bowl back down, wiping his hands in the mess over his front and licking them experimentally. The Doctor turned back merely five seconds later to find baby Jack had managed to cover his highchair, hands, front, face and even his _hair _in porridge. Jack looked up at him, giggling and grinning.

The Doctor reached out to take the bowl back, but with a final scream and a well-placed arm swing from the child the bowl went flying across the room and hit the wall, leaving a splat of porridge before it rebounded off and hit the floor. Baby Jack beamed at the Doctor again.

The Doctor stared at him for a moment; sucking it all in before he finally collapsed to his knees, holding his head in his hands. He curled up into a tight ball, rocking back and forth slowly on the floor, finally driven insane.

And that was how Rory found him minutes later with baby Jack screaming and waving his arms around covered in porridge.

* * *

"What happened?" Rose asked as her son dragged her husband into the TARDIS first living room across the floor by one arm.

"I think baby Jack happened," Rory replied casually, pulling his father up onto the sofa next to Rose, who took him into her arms and rubbed his back soothingly. "The mighty Doctor defeated by a five-month-old child."

"It's okay honey, no baby Jack here to hurt you," she muttered into his ear, kissing his hair. He moaned and clung onto her, burying his head into her shoulder. Jackie stared at him.

"I seriously think you need a break from your children," she finally said, and the Doctor just whimpered. "Rose honey, take yourself and him out for a walk or somethin', me and Rory'll look after them."

Rory's eyes suddenly opened wide, caught by surprise as he'd just dropped down into a chair. "Huh? What? Me?"

"Thanks, Mum," Rose grinned at Jackie and got to her feet, dragging the Doctor with her.

"No, no, no, no, no!" he said, eyes half-closed. "Not the evil eyes… the evil laugh…"

"Doctor, it's okay, we're gonna go take a breather outside alright?" she reached up to kiss his cheek, hand clutching his. "No more baby Jack for a while, promise." They disappeared out the door.

For a moment Rory just sat there, before he suddenly launched to his feet and ran out the door after them, yelling, "I'm coming with you!!"

* * *

They'd been walking through the streets of Gallifrey II for over ten minutes now, quiet and peaceful in the early morning light. Soon the Doctor was back to his normal self, bouncing along ahead of his wife and son babbling about anything and everything.

Suddenly there was a yell of shock, and the sound of a gun rang out across the air. The Doctor snapped out of his ramble and looked up to locate the source of the scream, only to find himself knocked to the floor as someone ran straight into him. Next thing he knew a gun was being pointed in his face, and he followed the hand on the gun up the arm to the face of a very angry looking man.

"Doctor," he spat, "time for you to watch your entire world break down around you!"

"What?" the Doctor asked, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Who are you?"

"Haven't you worked it out yet?!" the man screamed back, grabbing the Doctor by his neck and pulling him forwards, his fingers pressing so hard the Doctor found himself choking.

"Master," the Doctor gasped, still aware of Rose and Rory standing somewhere nearby. Didn't they have the sense to _run?! _"Kill me then, shoot me now. No regenerations. I'll be gone forever. Shoot me."

"But that's no fun!" the man replied in crazy delight, voice like a razor blade. "I won't _have _to kill you, 'cause when you wake up you'll want to kill _yourself_. D'you remember the dream? It's all come true. _You _stabbed Jill, _you _took Zoë… and now _you're _going to shoot Rose. Goodnight, Doctor."

He raised his left hand and placed it on the Doctor's forehead, closing his eyes. The Doctor struggled desperately to fight back but the mental strength of the Master was overwhelming. The pain was inconceivable as the Master smashed through the barriers like a cannonball, the rage ripping through the Doctor's mind with complete ease.

Then the Doctor knew no more.

* * *

**A/N:  
**

_Chapter 31 – Doomsday_

"_No!"_

_A smile crept its way onto the Master's face, but it was a smile of pure evil. He continued to stare at Rose, finger braced against the trigger. "Hello, son."_

"_Get the hell outta my dad," Rory spat in voice filled with determination, but the Master only laughed, heartily. He turned his head to look at him, black-ridden eyes scanning the boy over._

"_Ooo, such spirit! Your daddy would be proud. Shame it's just _not enough."


	31. Doomsday

**A/N: **I've decided to give all the Rambles a kind of secondary funky title so I can distinguish between them, rather than saying, "the one with the Gods 'n stuff"... This one is called "Sacrarium". How cool is that?! :D

* * *

Chapter 31 – Doomsday

Rose and Rory could only watch, helpless as the Master swiftly took over the Doctor's mind. The Doctor was yelling in utter agony, screaming for the Master to stop, but he didn't. Rose was torn between running for her life and staying to see if she could somehow help the Doctor, and in the end it was Rory who ran forward to try and pull the Master off of his father.

After five seconds of pulling suddenly the Doctor fell silent and went rigid – Rory took a hesitant step back. It was too late. Rory had experienced this part himself. The Master had taken over his dad's body. It was too late to do anything as the Master opened his eyes and sat bolt upright, staring straight through Rory.

"Mmm, the Doctor's body," the Master said, shrugging back his shoulders and running a tongue over his teeth. "Weird teeth. Weird mole."

He paused for a moment before his expression suddenly changed to realisation, as if he'd just remembered a long forgotten memory. He launched forward and grabbed the gun his previous body had dropped, climbing to his feet and swiftly loading it with expert ease. He raised the gun up to Rose, aiming.

"No!"

A smile crept its way onto the Master's face, but it was a smile of pure evil. He continued to stare at Rose, finger braced against the trigger. "Hello, son."

"Get the hell outta my dad," Rory spat in voice filled with determination, but the Master only laughed, heartily. He turned his head to look at him, black-ridden eyes scanning the boy over.

"Ooo, such spirit! Your daddy would be proud. Shame it's just _not enough_."

"Yip, yip!" came a sudden bark from over where Rose stood, and the Master looked down in surprise to find a pink and blue Delorion at his mistress' feet, growling and barking at the Master.

"Aww, a Delorion!" he enthused, "haven't seen one of them for ages!"

Bob barked again, lowering down on his front legs and wagging his tail dangerously. The Master gave a fake yawn before he swung his gun down to the Delorion and squeezed the trigger, then raised the gun back up to Rose. Bob yelped as Rory and Rose cried out, and the Delorion collapsed to the floor with a squeak.

There was no time to act on this before the Master pulled the trigger for a second time, and this time Rose collapsed to the floor, blood spilling from a bullet wound in her chest. Rory stared in surprise and disbelief, somehow not able to take it in before his mum breathed her last, her eyes slipping closed. Then he realised…

"NO!!" Rory heard himself scream, but he was pretty sure he hadn't opened his mouth.

"Whoops," the Master muttered, tossing the gun onto the floor carelessly. "Trigger happy, me."

Rory's heartsbeat thumped loudly in his own ears, his vision swerving in and out as he could only see red through the tears of rage and sorrow flowing down his cheeks. The image of his mother and Bob lying blooded on the floor was too much to bear so he looked up at the Master… but that wasn't much better.

"Aww, he's crying. What you gonna do, go to your mummy? Oh… wait…"

Rory felt as if he was going to explode from the amount of anger running through his blood. He looked back down to his mum, then to Bob, then to the Master, then to his mum, then the gun now abandoned on the ground. Before he knew what he was doing he'd launched forward and grabbed the gun in both hands, defiantly loading it before pointing it at the Master in his father's body. The Master seemed a little surprised, but he had no time to comment before Rory spoke next.

"Die," was the only word that the Time Lord boy muttered as his finger tightened on the trigger four times, and four bullets soared out of the barrel and into his father's torso. The Master suddenly screamed in agony, his essence drawing out of the Doctor's body in millions of tiny pieces and scattering out in all manner of directions. It finished and for a moment the Doctor just stood there, as if the pain hadn't quite reached his brain yet. The gun slipped from Rory's loose grasp, hitting the floor with a loud thud. He stared at his father for a moment, unable to believe what he'd just done.

"Dad…" he choked.

It was only then did the Doctor's limp body collapse, prone and unmoving on the cold, hard ground next to the body of his wife.

"NO!" Rory yelled, running forwards and skidding on his knees beside his father, turning him over. He was alive, he was breathing, he was looking at him… "Dad, please, no…"

"H-hey… Ror-ry," he gasped, giving a small grin through the pain, "y-you… owned m-me… th-this… t-time..."

"No dad, no! That wasn't real, it was just a stupid game, it wasn't serious, it wasn't…" He tried to wipe the tears from his eyes with his sleeve, but it was having no effect. "We don't use guns, we don't shoot people, we use fruit…"

The Doctor laughed for a moment, before choking on the blood coming up through his mouth. Rory looked at his father's torso riddled with bullet holes, at a complete loss for what to do.

"I need to stop the bleeding, I need to… don't die dad, please, there's so much you haven't taught me… you need to be there, for Lottie and Zoë and Jack and Yuna and mum and… you're gonna be fine!"

"Ror-ry," the Doctor searched out the boy's hand, clinging to it tightly. "The T-TARDIS is n-now… y-yours. L-Look aft-ter y-your… s-sisters and-d b-brother for me."

"Don't talk like that!" Rory yelled, pressing harder on one of the many wounds, "Please dad… please don't go…"

The Doctor gave one last smile, before his eyelids fluttered closed.

"Dad?" Rory wept, "no! Dad! Wake up!" He shook him by the shoulders but succeeded in doing nothing. He crossed over to Rose, desperately checking for a pulse. "Mum? Mum! Please, please, don't leave me…" There was no rhythm throbbing against his fingertips. No… he had to be wrong…

"Rose, Doc, Rory! We got…" Captain Jack stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. "Rory?"

Rory sniffed, looking up at his Uncle with tears pouring down his face. "They're dead."

Jack's eyes flickered back and forth between the Doctor and Rose for a moment, disbelief etched on his features. This had to be some kind of sick, twisted joke.

"Rory whatever you're pullin'… whatever you guys are doin'… It's not funny," but as he heard himself say the words, he knew this was no joke.

"No!" Rory sobbed, "they're dead, Jack. They're dead and it's all my fault. It's… it's all my fault…"

Jack jogged over to them, kneeling down beside Rose to check frantically for any signs of life. No pulse… she wasn't breathing… no heartbeat. Rose Sigma-Tyler was dead, no hints of life. Silently, he took off his coat and threw it over her to cover her face. He couldn't watch those usually sparkling brown eyes staring lifelessly at him.

Wasting no time he moved next over to the Doctor, checking all the life signs again but the little voice nagged in the back of his mind that it was pointless. But he had to hope…

"YES!" he suddenly yelled, head resting on the Doctor's chest. "There's a beat! There's a beat!! Doc, c'mon! Hold on!"

His uncle scooped up his dad in both arms, pelting it towards the TARDIS. Rory quickly took his mum with Jack's coat still covering her, aware of the crowd that had built around them. They were panicking – their leader had just been shot, attempted assassination…

And Rory had been the one to shoot him.

He began to walk back to the TARDIS, holding his dead mother in both arms.

* * *

**A/N:** _Chapter 32 – Unnamed_

"_Jack?" came a sudden voice from the corridor doorway, and there Jackie was standing with Lottie's hand in hers. "What's…?"_

_Jack instantly shielded the Doctor from view. "Get Lottie outta here!" he hissed. Jackie nodded quickly, herding a reluctant Lottie back out the door. Jack turned back to Rory, seeing that he hadn't moved from where he knelt beside his dead mother._

"_Rory!" Jack said urgently, "get the TARDIS to Torchwood!"_

"_Jack? What's goin' on?" Jackie demanded to know as she marched back in, straining to see the Doctor, completely missing the body lying across the TARDIS. "Has 'e knocked 'imself out again? I swear if he 'its his 'ead one more time…"_

"_Jackie," Jack said firmly, beckoning her over as he tried desperately to stop the bleeding. Jackie gasped as she neared, dropping down next to him and falling silent. _


	32. Death Of The Doctor

**A/N: **Not long to go now...

I SAW HAMLET AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!

* * *

Chapter 32 – Death Of The Doctor

Captain Jack Harkness ran into the TARDIS console room, heart rate soaring through the roof as he dropped down onto his knees on the grating, carefully lying the profusely bleeding Doctor down. The Time Lord was breathing painful half-rasps of air, so quiet Jack had to strain to hear him from two inches away. He heard Rory enter in the TARDIS behind him and he looked up just as the teen Time Lord set his mother down on the floor, still covered by his coat.

"Rory, get this thing to Torchwood," Jack commanded, looking back down to the Doctor who was now coughing up blood. "If we can get to Owen in time…"

"Jack?" came a sudden voice from the corridor doorway, and there Jackie was standing with Lottie's hand in hers. "What's…?"

Jack instantly shielded the Doctor from view. "Get Lottie outta here!" he hissed. Jackie nodded quickly, herding a reluctant Lottie back out the door. Jack turned back to Rory, seeing that he hadn't moved from where he knelt beside his dead mother.

"Rory!" Jack said urgently, "get the TARDIS to Torchwood!"

"Jack? What's goin' on?" Jackie demanded to know as she marched back in, straining to see the Doctor, completely missing the body lying across the TARDIS. "Has 'e knocked 'imself out again? I swear if he 'its his 'ead one more time…"

"Jackie," Jack said firmly, beckoning her over as he tried desperately to stop the bleeding. Jackie gasped as she neared, dropping down next to him and falling silent.

"He's been shot four times," he replied quickly, lightly tapping the Doctor's face. "C'mon Doc, c'mon…"

Then he noticed the TARDIS still wasn't moving. He looked up at Rory, almost shouting at the boy but he just about stopped himself in time.

"Rory, I can't pilot this thing and neither can your gran, so get it to Cardiff! Now!"

Rory just stared at the body on the floor. It was then Jackie noticed, for the first time, the figure wearing a hoody and a pair of jeans hidden partially by Jack's coat.

But she didn't need a diagram.

"Rose," she whispered.

"Jackie, stay calm." Jack was trying desperately to command the situation. "The Doc's life is on the edge, we've gotta get this thing to Torchwood!" He watched Rory carefully for a moment before launching onto two feet and running across to the boy, grabbing him and pulling him to his full height. "Please Rory, your dad's dying and his only hope is to get to my Torchwood, to Owen. I know how you're feelin', I really do, but _please, _we have to save your dad first!"

Slowly, Rory nodded.

"No!" Jack span back around to Jackie, who had her hand hovering over the Doctor's mouth, her head on his chest. "He's not breathin'."

Jack swore, crashing back down beside the Doctor and checking for himself. He'd stopped breathing. Immediately he began CPR, trying desperately to keep him going.

Suddenly there came a scratching at the TARDIS door, coupled with the whining of what sounded like a dog in pain. Rory's eyes widened as he realised…

"Bob!" He tore over to the TARDIS door, opening it for the Delorion. Slowly the blue dog-like creature limped in, a patch of purple blood splashed on his leg. Rory picked him up in both arms before running back to the console, flicking the last switch. The TARDIS lurched into immediate action and they were on their way to Torchwood.

"Please Doc," Jack whispered, "please, hold on…"

* * *

"Owen!"

Owen Harper was startled to hear the shout of Jack Harkness from the entrance of a familiar blue box that had just appeared next to him in the Torchwood base, looking up to see the Captain emerging with a lifeless body in his arms. It was the Doctor.

"Again?!" was Owen's first word as Jack bounded towards the medical room, ignoring everything else. Within seconds every member of Torchwood was running towards the medical room, ready to help.

"Jack? What happened?" Gwen Cooper asked as she began to help link the alien up to machines.

"The Master shot him four times," Jack replied, slicing through the Doctor's clothes to get to the wounds. "He shot Rose, she's dead." He hated saying it in such a way that made it seem trivial and insignificant, but the Doctor was far more important right now. He forced himself to mourn later. If he started getting emotional now he would be blinded in trying to save the Time Lord and the Doctor had to live. He always lived. He'd been through the shredder at least ten times and every time he had come back out, bruised and broken, he'd bounced back to full health and had been ready to face another day. He was not going to die. He was _not going to die._

"Rose is dead?!" Gwen stammered. She knew Rose well. They had become good friends in the efforts to save the Doctor the last time he'd got himself into a huge mess. She wasn't dead… was she?

"Gwen, focus!" Jack ordered as he finally stepped back from the Doctor, allowing Owen to work his magic. "Is there anything we can do, Owen?"

"Yeah," he said, "get me a coffee."

* * *

Rory Sigma-Tyler entered the medical room five hours later, seeing his father lying between stacks and stacks of blankets with about a hundred tubes going into him. His gran was sat beside him, holding his hand in hers with an aura of silence that was uncommon for her. He moved around to the other side, bringing up a chair and dropping into it.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, until Jackie finally looked up at the boy. He had Rose's eyes. That made her want to grieve all the more.

"Where did the Master go?" she asked the Time Lord teenager, who merely shrugged with his eyes still fixed on his father. She fell silent again.

"Gran," Rory finally said, not taking his eyes off of the Doctor. Jackie looked up to her grandson.

"Hmm?"

"The Master didn't shoot dad."

Jackie was confused. "But… who shot him then?"

Rory swallowed. "I… I did."

Jackie stared at him. "What?"

"The Master took over dad's body… he shot mum and Bob… then I dunno what happened but suddenly I had the gun in my hand and… I'd shot him four times. It's my fault, it was me, he's lying here 'cause of me…"

Jackie's face softened and she got to her feet, moving around to hug him.

"It's not your fault, honey. You 'ad to shoot him. There was no other way that could've gone. He was possessing the Doctor."

"I could've talked to him, I could've reasoned, like dad would've. But no, I had to go pick up a stupid gun and shoot him!"

Suddenly, there came a low moan from behind them. Jackie and Rory jumped in surprise at the sound, turning to look at the Doctor. He was still comatose. They must've imagined it.

* * *

_Doctor…_

It was just a little voice. Inside his head. He tried to open his eyes to see the source of the voice but they were too heavy to lift. His limbs were numb. His head was throbbing, not painfully, but it felt as though his brain was shrinking and expanding periodically.

_Doctor, don't die._

He forced his voice to work, at first a low moan coming through his mouth before his managed to move his lips to shape the words.

"Who are you?"

_Doctor, don't die. Not yet. _

The Doctor forced his right arm to reach up towards the darkness, trying to find someone or something to cling onto for support. "Who are you?"

_Grandfather._

It was a different voice to before, but it was definitely one he recognised. A voice from the past. So long ago now…

"Susan?" he asked. Suddenly voices came all in a rush; blurry pictures of people he recognised flying through his head.

_Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor._

Barbara… Ian… Jamie… the Brigadier… Sarah-Jane… Romana… Turlough… Tegan… Nyssa… Peri… Ace… Grace… They were just a few of the faces he managed to match to a name as they sped through his mixed-up head.

_Doctor._

Adric. He could feel something wet on his cheeks.

"Adric, I couldn't save you…" he gasped, "I tried, I swear, I tried…"

_Daddy._

Eva.

Then everything sped up again, people screaming at him as they sped past. Jack… Jackie… Rory… Lottie… Zoë… _Don't die,_ they were all screaming over and over again, _don't die…_

_Doctor. I love you._

"Rose," he croaked, "Rose, can you hear me?"

_Yes, Doctor, I can hear you._

"Rose, am I dying?"

_Yes, Doctor, you're dying._

"Help me," he whispered, "please help me Rose…"

_Take my hand, Doctor._

"I can't find it, Rose…"

_It's right in front of you Doctor. Reach out._

He struggled to raise his numb limb to reach her hand. After seconds of fumbling in the dark he finally made contact with a warm hand, and he was pulled forward.

Then his hearts stopped.

* * *

**A/N:  
**

_Chapter 33 – The End_

_Jack had been stood next to the two bodies laid side-by-side, covered with a large sheet. He had drawn it back slightly to reveal the Doctor's pale and lifeless features staring back at him, the white of his skin contrasting dramatically with his mop of wild brown hair. Jack had reached up and drew the Time Lord's eyes closed so it appeared as though he were just sleeping. Oh, how Jack had wished he were._

_It had been hard enough telling Lottie and Zoë that their mummy and daddy were not going to come back. "Your mummy and daddy are really tired," Jack had heard himself saying, "they need a long sleep." Zoë had stared at him for a while, shaking her head and clutching onto Drunky. Doomsday. She'd known it was going to happen. She had known her parents were never going to wake up. Lottie had just smiled and nodded before carrying on playing with her dolls, oblivious to the truth._


	33. The End

**A/N:** One more chapter after this one.

Ooo, I just watched SJA, I love all the little Doctor references they do :D Waiting for the next one on CBBC. MORE DOCTOR REFERENCES! MORE!! GIMME!

* * *

Chapter 33 – The End

Suddenly the heart rate monitor rang out a dead tone and Rory and Jackie jumped to their feet in alarm. Rory yelled for Jack and Owen, Jackie standing with her hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes.

"What's goin' on?!" came Jack's voice from the doorway. Jackie was the one to speak.

"He's dead, Jack."

"What?!" Jack gasped, running forwards to the Doctor with Owen. "He can't be! I won't let him!"

"Start immediate CPR!" Owen ordered, already reaching for the defibrillators as Jack began to press on the Doctor's chest.

"Jack…" Jackie said gently, pulling Jack's arms away from chest compressions. "It's over. Leave him."

"Please…" Jack had tears running down his face. "Let me try… Let me try…"

"He's suffered enough."

After a few seconds of silent sobbing, Jack finally nodded. He leant forward, flicking the switch behind the machines. They fell silent.

The Doctor was dead.

* * *

"Please, let us lay them to rest here on Gallifrey II," a member of the Time Lord High Council had said, "a ceremony to honour their importance in the history of our race."

Slowly, Rory and Jackie had nodded. Jack had been stood next to the two bodies laid side-by-side, covered with a large sheet. He had drawn it back slightly to reveal the Doctor's pale and lifeless features staring back at him, the white of his skin contrasting dramatically with his mop of wild brown hair. Jack had reached up and drew the Time Lord's eyes closed so it appeared as though he were just sleeping. Oh, how Jack had wished he were.

It had been hard enough telling Lottie and Zoë that their mummy and daddy were not going to come back. _"Your mummy and daddy are really tired,"_ Jack had heard himself saying, _"they need a long sleep." _Zoë had stared at him for a while, shaking her head and clutching onto Drunky. Doomsday. She'd known it was going to happen. She knew her parents were never going to wake up. Lottie had just smiled and nodded before carrying on playing with her dolls, oblivious to the truth.

Even baby Jack had stopped being a pain, only ever talking when he was forced to. His twin sister had been crying constantly for her mummy and daddy since it had happened.

He had pulled the sheet back over, looking up at Rory who had been staring at the bodies. This had hit the boy hard. Jack had tried his best to guide Rory through it but, although Jack had lost his brother at a young age, he'd never lost both his parents at the same time in cold-blooded murder. He'd never shot one of them either.

The ceremony had bought a few more tears back, the Time Lords laying the Doctor and Rose to rest in what they called the Hallowed Chamber inside the Eternal Ice Mountain, called so because the temperature inside was so low that it would preserve the Doctor and Rose's bodies for all eternity.

The TARDIS occupants were allowed to see the Doctor and Rose one final time. Just as they were leaving the entrance had caved in, almost crushing Lottie had Rory not saved her in time. The chamber was sealed for the rest of time, and finally the TARDIS group flew off back to Earth to rebuild their lives without the Doctor or Rose.

The Doctor, our Lord. You should pray to him every night to watch over you and your family, because to the Doctor every person – no matter who they are or what they've done – deserves to live."

The Gallifreyan schoolteacher shut the book, and instantly all of the class moaned loudly.

"But what happens? The Doctor didn't die, did he? My mum says he's still out there, saving planets and people," one of the children said, and the teacher chuckled.

"Remember, this happened over a thousand years ago. If the Doctor was still alive he would have come back to see us at least once in that time."

"But it can't just end there!" the Gallifreyan child moaned again, "after everything he and Rose did…"

"The story of the Doctor is a long one, but nevertheless it is a story and all stories must come to an end. The Doctor was not eternal and it's because of him that we have the society we live in today."

Every young Gallifreyan was taught this lesson. Live as the Doctor did. The God of the Gallifreyans. Pray to him every day for guidance and he would lead you to nirvana.

"So, you're a God now," Rose Tyler said to the man standing next to her, giving him a nudge. The Doctor sniffed and folded his arms as the children ran from the room to their lunch break.

"Apparently so. Well, they've gotta have something to believe in, I guess. Poor old Rassilon though, he got a bit left behind didn't he?"

"Good morning Doctor, Rose," the teacher said, turning towards the two. "How are you recuperating?"

"Fine, thanks," the Doctor grinned, eyeing the book in his hand. "Mind if I nick that?"

"Of course not." The schoolteacher smiled, handing it over. The Doctor flicked through it with mild interest. Most of it was wrong, of course. This book claimed that he was the son of Rassilon, and that the Master had led the Daleks in the Time War. Complete rubbish of course, but they didn't have much to go on.

"Are you sure this is how you want it to be?" the schoolteacher asked him, and the Doctor nodded.

"Interpret it how you like, pray to whoever you like, but I've got a new life now. I don't want to lead Gallifrey – I've done my bit, done what Rassilon told me to do. To everyone else on this planet, Rose and me are dead as doornails. It's time you all got on on your own."

"But what if we need you?"

"Then someone'll just have to be me." He grinned, holding the book up in the air. "'Cause this is my story, and the last chapter's missing…"

* * *

**A/N:**

_Chapter 34 – The Final Chapter_

_But maybe… just maybe…_

_She ran out of the flat front door, down the stairs and towards the TARDIS. She slipped inside, looking up at the TARDIS console the bear in hand._

"_TARDIS?" she asked quietly._

There's only one way.

"_I know," she replied, holding Drunky tighter. _

They won't remember you.

_She nodded. "Daddy had his destiny. Now this is mine."_


	34. The Final Chapter

**A/N: **Last one. EVER!

* * *

Chapter 34 – The Final Chapter

_The TARDIS had always been watching._

_ She had watched him from the moment he had stolen her on Gallifrey to the moment he had died. Oh, how her Doctor had grown and matured in the time in between. He had been at first arrogant and irritable in a junkyard on Earth but then had drastically changed over nine hundred years to the childish, happy family man he had eventually become. _

_ The TARDIS had helped considerably in the birth of Rory and Eva before guiding the Doctor and Rose through the emotional torment of the loss of Eva. She had spotted the weakness the baby boy had, devising a plan to 'charge' him to keep him alive. She'd protected baby Rory from outside attack when the Darkeese had tried to get in to get to him. She had made a connection with Rory, able to speak with him as a child. _

_ She had protected his family as they grew and grew, ensuring that they felt safe within her corridors. She had helped Rory through his first regeneration, knowing he would never be able to make it through without his father by his side. She had tried desperately to contain the Master within the depths of the TARDIS but had failed, so she had been forced to take the Doctor's regenerative energy out of him to ensure the Master would not be able to force a regeneration to completely consume the Doctor's soul. She wouldn't be able to bear it. Not her Doctor._

_ But now he was dead, and she was left with a golden cloud of regenerative energy. But there was one last hope…_

* * *

Zoë offered Drunky out to her gran. "He's hurt," she said, tears in her eyes once again. She pointed to the tears in Drunky's torso precisely where the Doctor had been shot. "Please fix him."

Jackie nodded with a reassuring smile, kissing her on the forehead. "'Course I will, sweetheart. I'll just get my needle and thread," she said, taking Drunky and turning away. Minutes later Jackie returned with a mended Drunky and Zoë took him back, hugging him tightly and returning to her room. She looked at the bear sadly, the sparkles from his eyes still gone. The holes were fixed, but there was no life left.

But maybe… just maybe…

She ran out of the flat front door, down the stairs and towards the TARDIS. She slipped inside, looking up at the TARDIS console the bear in hand.

"TARDIS?" she asked quietly.

_There's only one way._

"I know," she replied, holding Drunky tighter.

_They won't remember you._

She nodded. "Daddy had his destiny. Now this is mine."

* * *

Blimey, it was cold.

No, really. It was _freezing._

The Doctor eased open his cold eyelids to meet a cold, dark world, lit only by the hole in the centre of the roof. It was small, but it gave so much light. He was lying on a cold bed strewn with cold furs in a very, very, very cold place. He shuddered uncontrollably, trying to flex his fingers but they were rigid – probably from the cold. He continued this routine for a while, flexing fingers and wiggling toes until he had regained control of most of his body. He forced himself to turn over to his right, surprised to see the one person he'd never expected…

"R-Rose?" he gasped, but Rose wasn't moving, and it may have just been the light but he could almost _swear _she wasn't breathing. He tried desperately to force his blood to circulate faster so he could apply movement and get to her. It was almost like his blood has stopped circulating for a while…

No. Wait. Could it…? Had he…? Questions began flying through his head as he forced his heavy limbs up to trace over his face. Messy hair, sideburns, thin face… No, he hadn't regenerated. He ran his hands over his clothes, finding himself wearing his usual brown suit and trenchcoat but… what was this?

He strained his head up, forcing back fatigue as he discovered a hole in the left side of the material halfway down his abdomen. It was just the right size for… a regular bullet. He'd been shot?! He didn't remember this! He was pretty damn sure he'd remember a thing like getting shot; it definitely wasn't something you tended to forget in a hurry…

Suddenly there was a dramatic gasp from his right where Rose lay, and the Doctor focused on the woman in question.

"R-Rose?" he stuttered again, and this time a choked reply came:

"D-Doct-tor? Wh-what… Wh-where…?" She was trying to move everything at once.

"R-Rose, l-listen to m-me," he stuttered, flexing his muscles once more to return feeling. "You n-need t-to t-take it s-slowl-ly. Flex y-your f-fingers and y-your t-toes first, d-do it g-gradually ok-kay?"

"Ok-kay," she affirmed as the Doctor took a deep breath, forcing himself to sit up. He slowly built up the energy and courage to put the weight onto his feet, only to succeed in falling flat on his face onto the floor. He heard her giggle and he couldn't help but smile as he dragged himself to his feet, shaking as the draft from between the rocks rushed right through him. He leant over Rose, helping her to move as best he could. He checked her over for any indication as to what had happened to her – and found a regular sized bullet hole in the material of her clothes where her heart was.

"R-Rose, d-don't want t-to… alarm y-you, but w-we've been… sh-shot and k-killed," he said slowly and clearly, helping her to sit up. She stared at him for a moment, shaking her head to try and clear it.

"Wh-what?"

"We've c-come… b-back f-from the d-dead."

Rose was staring at him, eyes wide, jaw open. "What?" But before he could explain there came shouting and footsteps from somewhere beyond the cave wall, and the sound of rock shifting.

"Mum? Dad?" came a yell from the other side, a very familiar yell. The Doctor and Rose exchanged a look.

"We-we're h-here!" Rose called back, leaning against the Doctor as she got to her feet, who was also leaning on her. They were starting to shake from the cold now. There were a few dramatic gasps in reaction to her reply on the other side of the rock.

"Hold on, I'll get you out in a sec!"

The Doctor turned back to Rose, giving her a smile through the shaking. Suddenly his legs were too weak to support both him and Rose at the same time and he slid to the floor weakly, Rose in his arms.

"Rose, Doc! Hold on!" came another familiar voice, "keep moving, keep warm!"

"C-cold," Rose muttered, trying to huddle into the Doctor even more. Her skin definitely had a blue tinge… The Doctor gently lowered her to the ground, still holding her tightly.

"J-Jack… R-Rory… h-hurry… u-up…" he forced out, staring at the caved-in entrance.

"Move! Keep moving!" Jack's voice came again, "keep warm!"

"C-can't… t-too… h-hard…"

"Don't you two _dare _die on us again!"

The Doctor found himself smiling, a gesture that quickly faded when he looked back to Rose, who had stopped shivering. Coming into severe hypothermia…

"J-Jack!"

Then he could see a light in-amongst the rubble, and he realised with glee that it was the other side of the cave-in. He held Rose tighter. It wasn't just Jack and Rory digging them out. There seemed to be a whole load of other people too, voices he didn't recognise frantically yelling instructions. Where was he, anyway? He couldn't remember…

His eyes dropped down to his chest – to the four bullet holes cut into his shirt. He checked the skin and yes, scars were present. He'd been shot. Four times. Someone had _really _wanted him dead. Well, he _had_ been, for a while.

Then the light exploded out of the entrance and the Doctor's hand flew to his eyes, the light too bright for a moment. There were a few more gasps and a couple of yells before suddenly Jack was kneeling next to him, throwing a blanket around his shoulders and hugging him firmly.

"It's okay, we got you," the ex-Time Agent reassured him gently. "You're hypothermic, but we're gonna take you to a safe place, okay?"

The Doctor smiled gratefully, feeling Jack lift his body up in the air and carry him out of the chamber. They had barely been moving for a minute before Jack suddenly stopped, expressing vocal disbelief at something. The Doctor forced his eyes to open as Jack set him carefully down on the ground, turning his head sideways to look at what Jack was seeing. It was a small girl – about five or six – laid on the ground. She had blonde curly hair and a neat white dress on, a bedraggled teddy bear in her grip.

He pulled himself over to her, putting his fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. Nothing. He could see no signs of forced death – it was as though she'd died of old age.

"D'you recognise her?" one of the Gallifreyans of the group asked. The Doctor paused for a moment, taking in her features. She was so familiar…

"N-no," he answered, his eyes snapping to the bears under her arm. "B-but that I d-do." He reached out, the bear from out of her loose grip. "M-mine."

"How'd she get it?" Jack frowned. "Who is she?"

The Doctor suddenly caught sight of a small bottle in her left hand. It was almost empty… a couple of golden drops sparkled at the bottom left over from being poured.

"I th-think I-I kn-know," he said, "this i-is re-regen-nerat-tive e-energy… _my _e-energ-gy…"

Put them together… but… no. That was stupid. You couldn't bring someone back to life using a bottle of regenerative energy and a teddy bear.

Unless.

This girl, whoever she was, she'd given a jolt to their lives by sacrificing her own. It was the only explanation. But why would she do that? What kind of immense power had she held in her to do something like that? Did he even know her? And asides from that, how had a teddy bear become an entity for him and Rose? This was _beyond _weird…

"R-Rose," the Doctor suddenly said, and Jack picked him up once more.

"She's fine, Doc. We're gonna take you guys to a safe place."

* * *

They buried the blonde little girl next to Eva Sigma-Tyler – the Doctor and Rose's daughter whom had died during childbirth – in the Earth churchyard. No one seemed to know the blonde girl, but she had definitely played a part in the Doctor and Rose's revival. The Doctor and Rose named her Amber for the church records, registering her as their own child. Amber Sigma-Tyler. The mysterious girl without a home.

It had been three months since they had died, and all the children had grown up so fast in that time. Jackie had since enrolled Lottie into the local primary school; Jack too overwhelmed with children to teach them all. The Doctor said he would take her out of the primary school when it stopped being fun and got into pointless exams, but she was happy for the time being.

Little Jack had become a pain instantly from the moment he saw his father. His sister, Yuna, had acknowledged her parents without another word and had shown off that she had learnt to walk. The Doctor and Rose felt slightly miffed that they had missed that part of Yuna and Jack's lives. Dawn had also learnt to walk and talk, and the Doctor had never seen Captain Jack so protective of anything as much as he was of his baby girl.

Rory also had returned to the University in that time, managing to find Amylia once more. Their wedding was scheduled for after Amylia had completed her course, Rory deciding to abandon his place at the Universal University and be self-taught.

It was as though they'd never been away.

* * *

"Where are we?"

"Planet Euphorias, sector G at approximately 4:55am," the Doctor replied to her, hands in pockets as he led Rose up the hill.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Rose asked as they stopped at the top, gazing down at the scene below. He grinned.

"Good view. Bit of a breather before it all starts over again." He took his coat off, laying it on the ground for her to sit on. She did so and he dropped down behind her, letting her sit up against him in his arms. He pointed across the shore to the village by the beach, still and quiet in the early morning atmosphere. "The city lights go out one by one, the stars fade. Then the horizon glows, almost like it's on fire. It's kinda rose coloured, right? First in the sea, then it spreads to the sky. It gets brighter and brighter, 'til everything glows."

"Sounds pretty."

"If you want prettier, all you have to do is look in a mirror."

"Don't get cheesy," she replied, but she was still smiling. "It's perfect. Thank you."

"I don't take you to enough places like this," the Doctor said wistfully. "There are plenty."

"I don't mind," she replied as she closed her eyes, letting the sound of the tide carry her away in the Doctor's arms.

"I do. Besides, I'm gonna need to think of a few more places to go since we're gonna be spending one-and-a-half-lives together."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, confused. "What?"

"Well, basically, somehow my last three bodies have split themselves between you and me. We both now have one-and-a-half lives."

"What's that mean though?"

"If you die you'll regenerate, as I will. But the half… is a bit dodgy. It can go three ways. Number one, the body will be healed and physical and mental state won't change – basically we'll keep our body and personality, we'll just get healed from the injury. The second option is that the body will heal and the physical state will remain the same, but we'll also a acquire a new personality besides the one we already have."

"Two personalities?" Rose asked. The Doctor nodded. "Jekyll and Hyde."

"Maybe," he said, entirely seriously, "not good. The third option isn't good either. The physical state will change and the body will be healed, the old personality chucked but no new personality."

"No personality at all?"

He shook his head. "Nadda."

"So more like a vegetable, then," Rose surmised and the Doctor nodded again. "Can't we do anythin' about it?"

He shook his head this time. "We can only hope for the best, and have a great time in-between." He cupped her cheek, turning her face towards him.

"I love you," she said with a smile to which he returned, just as wide.

"I love you too." The Doctor leant forward to kiss her, lingering for a moment before pulling away and getting to his feet, taking her hand. "Allons-y, then. Back to civilisation." She nodded and got up also, giving his grip a squeeze. The Doctor no longer had to fear mortality – she would live as long as he would, he wouldn't have to watch her grow old and die. He picked up his coat, and together they began to walk down the hill to the TARDIS, finally together forever.

"Oh, by the way," Rose suddenly said as they neared the door, and he looked down at her. "I'm pregnant again."

"Oh f-"

**The End**

* * *

**A/N: **Well, and with that we finally come to the end of the Rambles. Forever. I swore this would be a trilogy, you beat a fourth out of me but now I'm utterly out of ideas. So That's it. Settled! No Ramble Christmas Special or Ramble Remixed or what have you, never ever, ever, ever, ever!

So, that brings me to the usual 'thanks' at the end.

First, always and forever - **the readers, and especially, the reviewers. **Without whom there would've been no second, third or fourth Ramble, no compulsion to go on. I seriously love all of you and I'm proud to say it's been almost three years since the first Ramble was published - heckova long time, right? At this point I would spend loads of time going through all the reviews on all the Rambles to find faithful reviewers but I just wanna go this up and done and dusted. Hugs for everyone! I just can't thank you enough.

Second, **tardis-mole,** faithful proofreader for just about, well, everything. You're incredible and amazingly talented, and I seem to be discovering new things about you everyday! **tardis-mole **is literally a brilliant writer so if you haven't read stuff already, GO AND READ IT NOW!

Last, **the teachers. **Every single one of you have been an assistance in my writing this during your classes and probably will be for future fics to come.

Upcoming fics? Well, I'm currently in the ties of writing a 'prequel' to Lector Manor (by FORCE I tell you!), or rather what I have come to call before Lector Manor from the Doctor's point of view. So keep an eye out for that one 'cause I'm loving writing it!

So, this is me, RDA, signing off the Rambles for the last time.

Chow!


End file.
